Feasibility assessment of an FBG-based wearable system for monitoring back dorsal flexion-extension in video terminal workers

In recent years, ever more workers are employed in sedentary jobs spending many hours sitting at video terminals. Discomfort office furniture and incorrect video screen positioning, as well as bad postural attitudes lead to the occurrence of back musculoskeletal disorders. Low back pain is one of the most widespread disease which causes a heavy socio-economic burden as it leads to absence from workplace and use of the National Health Service. In this scenario, being able to continuously evaluate poor postural attitudes may be beneficial to correct postural habits, and so to reduce the incidence of such a disease. For this purpose, many technologies capable to detect the spinal range of motions (ROMs) have been developed. Among others, the use of optical fiber sensors is gaining momentum, since these sensors allow the development of wearable, light and non-invasive monitoring systems. The present work aims at assessing the capability of a custom-made smart textile based on FBG sensors in detecting back dorsal flexion-extension (F/E) movements. Experimental results show high sensitivity to strain of the smart textile and confirm the system capability of monitoring back dorsal F/E movements in time.