Quantifying cardiologists’ hand grip strengths and force distributions using a multi-sensor force-sensitive surgical glove

Purpose: Catheter-based cardiovascular devices have unique and varying user interfaces. There is a lack of guidelines in the literature regarding strength and force data of hand actions for endovascular cardiovascular devices. This study presents a customised test approach for measuring hand forces during simulated surgeries that can be applied to the design of catheter-based cardiovascular devices. Method: A laboratory test was developed in which a custom designed test rig was used alongside a novel force sensitive surgical glove to gather live force data from hand exertions. The glove had 8 melamine foam based piezoresistive sensors placed along the fingers and palm. Results: Grip and pinch strengths of N = 8 (6:2 male:female) cardiologists were studied, in addition to hand application forces for various cardiovascular handle diameters, angles of push and grasp types. Mean grip exertion (SD) for males and females was 405.7 N (118.7 N) and 264.1 N (37.1 N) for power grip; 93.6 N (20.9 N) and 72.4 N (1.7 N) for tripod pinch; and 60.9 N (15.0 N) and 45.4 N (1.7 N) for precision pinch. The mean sum of applied forces from the sensorised glove peaked at 39 N for the following simulated cardiology conditions: 0° angle with a 40 mm handle diameter. Conclusions: The force data may offer better insight into user capabilities for the design of safer and more efficient delivery catheter interfaces. The sensorised gloves are a cost-effective technology, providing multi-point force sensing for simulated catheter-based procedures.