2007, Piran, Slovenia

2007, Piran, Slovenia 2007, Piran, Slovenia

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Environmental Ergonomics XII Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007 REFERENCES Ftaiti, F., Duflot, JC., Nicol, C., Grelot, L., 2001. Tympanic temperature and heart rate changes in fire-fighters during treadmill runs performed with different fireproof jackets. Ergonomics. 44, 502. Heimburg, ED., Rasmussen AKR., Bedbo JI., 2006. Physiological responses of firefighters and performance predictors during a simulated rescue of hospital patients. Ergonomics. 49, 111-126. United States Fire Administration (USFA), 2001. Firefighter fatalities in 2000. U.S. Fire Administration TOPICAL FIRE RESEARCH SERIES. Volume 1, Issue 20. Smolander, J., Kuklane, K., Gavhed, D., Nilsson, H., Holmer, I., 2004. Effectiveness of a Light-Weight Ice-Vest for Body Cooling While Wearing Fire Fighter’s Protective Clothing in the Heat. Muir, IH., Bishop, PA., Ray, P., 1999. Effects of a Novel Ice-Cooling Technique on work in protective clothing at 28 23 , and 18 WBGTs. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 60, 96-104. 450

Manikins EVALUATION OF THE ARMY BOOT ANKLE SAGITAL STIFFNESS Aleš Jurca 2 , Bojan Nemec 1 and Igor B. Mekjavic 1 1 Department of Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana; 2 UCS d.o.o., Vrhnika, Slovenia Contact person: ales.jurca@ucstech.eu INTRODUCTION Most army boots are over-the-ankle type of footwear to stabilize and protect the ankle, thus obstructing the ankle joint movement in the sagittal plane. Gait studies have shown that ankle joint saggital stiffness may affect energy efficiency. Walking and running in boots with lower ankle sagital stiffness results in extended ankle joint movement. The ankle joint is therefore capable of generating significantly more power, which results in increased gait velocity. Due to the significance of ankle joint saggital stiffness in the efficiency of gait, we designed a test protocol for evaluating this feature in candidate army boots. METHOD The stiffness of the boot ankle was measured on the basis of the resistance of the boot to the ankle joint rotation (dorsiflexion) in the saggital plane. A foot model (Fig. 1) of the same size was inserted into the boot to simulate having a human foot in the boot. The foot model has a two degrees-of-freedom (DOF) ankle joint with no resistance to ankle joint rotation in the sagital plane. The top of the foot model has a 3 DOF knee joint with no resistance to knee joint rotation in the sagittal plane, which was fixed to a 3 DOF robot (Cartesian robot manipulator, Institute Jozef Stefan, Slovenia – Fig. 2). 2 DOF ankle joint Figure 1. Foot model Figure 2. Cartesian robot manipulator 451

Environmental Ergonomics XII<br />

Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana <strong>2007</strong><br />

REFERENCES<br />

Ftaiti, F., Duflot, JC., Nicol, C., Grelot, L., 2001. Tympanic temperature and heart rate<br />

changes in fire-fighters during treadmill runs performed with different fireproof jackets.<br />

Ergonomics. 44, 502.<br />

Heimburg, ED., Rasmussen AKR., Bedbo JI., 2006. Physiological responses of firefighters<br />

and performance predictors during a simulated rescue of hospital patients. Ergonomics.<br />

49, 111-126.<br />

United States Fire Administration (USFA), 2001. Firefighter fatalities in 2000. U.S. Fire<br />

Administration TOPICAL FIRE RESEARCH SERIES. Volume 1, Issue 20.<br />

Smolander, J., Kuklane, K., Gavhed, D., Nilsson, H., Holmer, I., 2004. Effectiveness of a<br />

Light-Weight Ice-Vest for Body Cooling While Wearing Fire Fighter’s Protective<br />

Clothing in the Heat.<br />

Muir, IH., Bishop, PA., Ray, P., 1999. Effects of a Novel Ice-Cooling Technique on work in<br />

protective clothing at 28 23 , and 18 WBGTs. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 60, 96-104.<br />

450

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