Glove Performance Research Articles

A comparison of the effect of different surgical gloves on objective measurement of fingertip cutaneous sensibility

The prudent selection of surgical gloves can deliver significant efficiency savings. However, objective data are lacking to compare differences in cutaneous sensibility between competing gloves. Therefore, the present study examined the use of a single comparable model of sterile surgical glove from two competing providers, Gammex PF HyGrip(®) (Ansell Limited, Red Bank, NJ, USA) with Biogel(®) (Mölnlycke Health Care AB, Göteborg, Sweden). Cutaneous pressure threshold, static and moving two-point discrimination were measured as indices of objective surgical glove performance in 52 blinded healthcare professionals. The mean cutaneous pressure threshold was 0.0680 ± 0.0923 g for skin, 0.411 ± 0.661 g for Ansell gloves and 0.472 ± 0.768 g for Biogel gloves. Skin was significantly more sensitive than Ansell (P < 0.0001) or Biogel (P < 0.0001) gloves (Wilcoxon signed rank test). There was no statistical difference between Biogel and Ansell gloves (P = 0.359). There was no significant difference between static or moving 2-point discrimination of skin and Ansell gloves (P = 0.556, P = 0.617; Wilcoxon signed rank test), skin and Biogel gloves (P = 0.486, P = 0.437; Wilcoxon signed rank test) or Ansell and Biogel gloves (P = 0.843, P = 0.670; Wilcoxon signed rank test). No demonstrable objective difference was found between competing gloves in the outcome measures of cutaneous sensibility and two-point discrimination. However, a difference in subjective preference was noted. Untested factors may underlie this discrepancy, and further research should employ more sophisticated measurements of surgical performance using competing models of surgical glove.

Study on functional relationships between ergonomics indexes of manual performance

This paper investigates functional relationships between some of the key ergonomics indexes in manual performance, and attempts to condense the ergonomics appraisal indexes system and thus evaluate hand performance wearing EVA (extravehicular activity) glove, design and improve EVA glove's performance. Four types of ergonomics indexes were studied, i.e., dexterity, tactile sensibility (TS), strength and fatigue. Two test items of insert sticks into a holes-board (ISIHB) and nuts–bolts assembly task (NBAT) were used to measure dexterity, while shape discrimination (SD) was employed for TS, and grip force (GF) for strength and fatigue. The variables measured in this investigation included accomplishing time (AT) of ISIHB and NBAT, correct rate (CR) of SD, maximal grip force (MGF), instant grip force (IGF) and endurance time of grip force ( ET GF ) . Experiments were conducted on 31 undergraduates (eight female and 23 male) with two experiment conditions of bare-hand group and gloved hand group. Results demonstrated that dexterity and TS performance of gloved hand group declined significantly compared with those of bare-hand group ( p < 0.001 ) . There were not significant differences in strength and fatigue between two conditions ( p > 0.05 ) . Four effective functional relationships were developed between four pairs of ergonomics indexes in bare-hand group. In gloved hand group, in addition to above-mentioned four pairs of relationships, another formula was found, which was y ^ = 0.02061 + 0.01233 x ( p < 0.01 , dexterity and TS).

Effects of Hand-Tool Coupling Conditions on the Isolation Effectiveness of Air Bladder Anti-Vibration Gloves

The goals of this study were to determine the vibration isolation effectiveness of a typical (air bladder) anti-vibration glove as a function of vibration frequency, and to investigate the effects of hand-tool coupling action and applied force level on the effectiveness. Six male volunteers were used in the study. A palm adapter method similar to that recommended in the current ISO standard for anti-vibration glove testing (ISO-10819, 1996) was used to measure the transmissibility of the glove. Three different handgrip actions (grip-only, push-only and combined grip and push), three force levels (50, 75 and 100 N), and a broad-band random spectrum were used in the experiment. This study found that the effectiveness of the glove generally increased with an increase in vibration frequency, while the glove did not provide any effective vibration isolation at frequencies less than or equal to 25 Hz. Under the same force level, the push-only action produced the greatest vibration attenuation while the grip-only action resulted in the lowest glove performance among the three actions. Increasing the force tended to increase vibration transmissibility at low frequencies (&lt; 31.5 Hz), while transmissibility decreased at the middle frequencies (63 – 250 Hz). The knowledge generated by this study can be used to augment vibration exposure risk assessments and to promote the appropriate application of anti-vibration gloves at workplaces.

P69 A practical approach to the selection and use of gloves for workplace protection against chemical hazards

Millions of chemical protective gloves are used every day in Europe. Unfortunately, many are not achieving the level of performance needed to protect the health of the worker, although neither employer nor user are aware of this. The way in which such gloves perform is complex and affected by a whole range of factors. A method of integrating these into a simple method for selection and use has proved to be extremely difficult. This presentation will review the many factors that affect glove performance under actual working conditions and show how a system for the selection and use of gloves for chemical protection might be developed. A novel method for testing gloves under actual working conditions so as to correctly identify performance will be proposed.

Lack of expression of methylthioadenosin phosphorylase (MTAP) in normal human colonic epithelial cells

Vibration-reducing (VR) gloves have been increasingly used to help reduce vibration exposure, but it remains unclear how effective these gloves are. The purpose of this study was to estimate tool-specific performances of VR gloves for reducing the vibrations transmitted to the palm of the hand in three orthogonal directions (3-D) in an attempt to assess glove effectiveness and aid in the appropriate selection of these gloves. Four typical VR gloves were considered in this study, two of which can be classified as anti-vibration (AV) gloves according to the current AV glove test standard. The average transmissibility spectrum of each glove in each direction was synthesized based on spectra measured in this study and other spectra collected from reported studies. More than seventy vibration spectra of various tools or machines were considered in the estimations, which were also measured in this study or collected from reported studies. The glove performance assessments were based on the percent reduction of frequency-weighted acceleration as is required in the current standard for assessing the risk of vibration exposures. The estimated tool-specific vibration reductions of the gloves indicate that the VR gloves could slightly reduce (<5%) or marginally amplify (<10%) the vibrations generated from low-frequency (<25 Hz) tools or those vibrating primarily along the axis of the tool handle. With other tools, the VR gloves could reduce palm-transmitted vibrations in the range of 5%–58%, primarily depending on the specific tool and its vibration spectra in the three directions. The two AV gloves were not more effective than the other gloves with some of the tools considered in this study. The implications of the results are discussed.Hand-transmitted vibration exposure may cause hand-arm vibration syndrome. Vibration-reducing gloves are considered as an alternative approach to reduce the vibration exposure. This study provides useful information on the effectiveness of the gloves when used with many tools for reducing the vibration transmitted to the palm in three directions. The results can aid in the appropriate selection and use of these gloves.

Effectiveness of a Transfer Function Method for Evaluating Vibration Isolation Performance of Gloves When Used with Chipping Hammers

Anti-vibration gloves have been used as personal protective equipment to reduce the exposure intensity of hand-transmitted vibration. Although a method based upon the measured transfer function has been recently proposed to predict the tool-specific anti-vibration performance of these gloves, its validity for real tool applications has not been sufficiently evaluated. In this study, the effectiveness of the proposed prediction method was examined using two typical vibration-attenuation gloves when used in conjunction with two different pneumatic chipping hammers. Six adult male subjects were employed in the experiments involving measurement of gloves transmissibility while operating the selected tools. A comparison of the measured vibration transmissibility with the predicted values revealed that the transfer function method provides a reasonably good prediction of the vibration isolation performance of the gloves. The differences between the predicted and measured mean values of the weighted transmissibility were surprisingly small. It is concluded that the transfer function method can serve as an effective and convenient approach for estimating the effectiveness of anti-vibration gloves when used with pneumatic chipping hammers. A pneumatic chipping hammer is considered to represent a critical case for the evaluation of the method because they are typical percussive tools that generate impact vibration. It is thus anticipated that the transfer function method may also be widely employed to predict anti-vibration glove performance when used with many other vibrating tools.

In-use testing and interpretation of chemical-resistant glove performance.

Issuing gloves to workers is the most common approach to protecting against skin contact with hazardous chemicals. Typically, glove materials are selected and duration of wear is estimated based on comparisons of laboratory test data. Those who select the glove materials often fail to verify their selections by testing the glove during actual use. This failure poses a common but potentially serious hazard to workers. Although methods are available for assessing permeation rates during actual use, such testing is unlikely without acceptable exposure guidance criteria for decision making. This document reviews methods for testing glove performance during actual use and suggests an approach for estimating acceptable exposure guidance criteria for evaluation of chemicals that are systemically absorbed. It is the authors' opinion that as of now an approach to estimating exposure criteria for chemical irritants and sensitizers may not be feasible. With available data resources, acceptable glove exposure criteria could be generated for use in assessing the risk of using specific gloves for handling many compounds in occupational settings.

A critique of assumptions about selecting chemical-resistant gloves: a case for workplace evaluation of glove efficacy.

Wearing chemical-resistant gloves and clothing is the primary method used to prevent skin exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace. The process for selecting gloves is usually based on manufacturers' laboratory-generated chemical permeation data. However, such data may not reflect conditions in the workplace where many variables are encountered (e.g., elevated temperature, flexing, pressure, and product variation between suppliers). Thus, the reliance on this selection process is questionable. Variables that may influence the performance of chemical-resistant gloves are identified and discussed. Passive dermal monitoring is recommended to evaluate glove performance under actual-use conditions and can bridge the gap between laboratory data and real-world performance.

Effects of glove, orientation, pressure, load, and handle on submaximal grasp force

While the use of gloves often aid in the safety of completing tasks, and in some cases can even increase performance, as occurs with torquing tasks, there is most often a trade off between increased safety and performance capability when donning gloves. This is especially true in the microgravity EVA environment. The objectives of the present program of research were to examine grasp force at maximal and submaximal exertions, and to address the possibility of a relationship tactility and grasp force. A series of studies were conducted to examine grasp force at the hand/handle interface under a variety of performance conditions. Experiment 1 was conducted to examine the effect of glove type, pressure differential, and lifted load on grasp force at submaximal exertions. Experiment 2 also examined the effect of glove type and lifted load on submaximal grasp force. In addition, handle size and handle orientation were also examined. Experiment 3 was an examination of the effect of glove type, load lifted, handle size and handle orientation on maximal grasp force. Findings indicated that grasp force was effected by frictional and load tactile feedback. Consistent with published evidence, there was a strong glove effect at maximal exertions. However, the glove effect was marginal at submaximal exertions. This suggests that the neuro-muscular mechanisms utilized during maximal exertions are differentially applied and/or different from those used during submaximal or “just holding” types of exertion. The implications for the designer are discussed. Relevance to industry Across industries, gloves are donned to reduce the likelihood of damage to the human hand. However, there is an inherent trade-off between safety and performance with the use of gloves. This study found glove performance differences between submaximal and maximal exertions. Therefore, to increase task performance and worker's safety, engineers must consider exertion levels when choosing the type of glove to use.

Biomechanical performance of powder-free examination gloves

Biomechanical performance studies were undertaken for powder-free, latex and nitrile examination gloves. Using standardized tests, examination glove performance was judged by measuring glove thickness, glove puncture force, glove tape adhesion force, glove donning force, glove stiffness, and immediate unrecovered stretch. Even though the nitrile examination gloves were thinner than the latex examination gloves, they exhibited a greater puncture resistance. In addition, tape adherence to the N-Dex™ nitrile glove was the lowest. Moreover, measurements of the handling characteristics of the nitrile examination gloves demonstrated that they are an acceptable alternative to latex examination gloves. While these biomechanical studies demonstrate the superiority of the nitrile examination gloves, clinical glove evaluation is still needed to determine their performance in the health care setting.

Influence of a Baseball Glove on the Nature of Errors Produced in Simple One-Hand Catching

The influence of a baseball glove on the positioning and grasping components of one-hand catching was studied under both vision impaired and unimpaired conditions. Skilled softball and baseball players (N = 20) caught tennis balls barehand and softballs with a fielder's glove. In half of the trials, a screen positioned alongside the subject's head blocked vision of the catching hand. All trials were videotaped and errors were categorized by type (position or grasp). Results indicated that with the glove performance was essentially perfect, regardless of the screen condition. Barehand grasping performance, however, was affected by the subject's inability to see his hand to a much greater extent than barehand positioning. We argue that the baseball glove functions to reduce both the positioning accuracy requirements and the grasp timing requirements in simple catching. Peripheral vision of the limb, however, is necessary for controlling the barehand grasp phase.