Wearable Monitoring and Assistive Devices for the Risk Prevention and Return to Work

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the epochal changes in Industry 4.0 have driven the development and use of innovative monitoring and assistive devices and technologies for manual handling work activities and return to work. They include:

Miniaturized and wireless wearable sensors, which are increasingly being used for quantitative instrumental-based biomechanical risk assessments in the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs);

Human–robot collaboration (HRC) technologies (i.e. ,wearable trunk and upper-limb exoskeletons, collaborative robots, and humanoids), which are spreading to several ares of work to reduce physical demands and assist the return to work of subjects affected by diseases.

The aim of this Special Issue entitled “Wearable Monitoring and Assistive Devices for Risk Prevention and Return to Work” is to publish studies concerning:

New quantitative wearable devices-based approaches improving biomechanichal risk assessments in manual handling activities. Studies about the adaptation of tools to all work conditions, overcoming some of the limits of the current standardized methods are particularly welcomed;

The use of HRC technologies impacting on the reduction of biomechanical risk;

The use of monitoring and assistive devices for: (1) the evaluation of the efficacy of return to work rehabilitation paths and workplace adaptations, 2) facilitating the return to work of people affected by WMSDs or other pathologies.

Dr. Alberto Ranavolo
Dr. Daniele Pucci
Guest Editors

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