Dr. Shawn Roll, MSOP Lab Director, was inducted into the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s Academy of Research. This honorary academy was established in 1983 to recognize individuals who have made exemplary, distinguished, and sustained contributions toward the science of occupational therapy. At the time of his induction, Dr. Roll joins a select group of only 75 other researchers to join this prestigious group. You can read a brief interview about his contributions on the AOTF AOR Website. Watch Dr. Roll’s overview presentation of his career to date at the AOTF Research Excellence Symposium on the MSOP YouTube Channel.
]]>MSOP’s recent publication in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has been making a strong impact through media releases and reaching the top 1% of all articles published in this high-impact journal. The manuscript describes results of a nationwide survey of nearly 1,000 office workers who transitioned to working from home during COVID-19, finding that nearly two-thirds reported having one or more new physical health issues and nearly three-fourths experienced at least one new mental health issue. The most significant predictors of poorer health were decreased physical activity, increased junk food intake, lack of communication with coworkers, and having a toddler at home. Female respondents and respondents with an annual income of less than 100k reported more health issues compared to male respondents and respondents with higher incomes. Numerous additional factors including other dependents in the home and the physical work environment in the home impacted worker health status. Read the full text ⟩
]]>The new MSOP publication, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, describes office worker perspectives on incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into office workspaces. The study explored workers’ views on including AI in their office workspace to monitor and adapt the environment for comfort and health, as well as to monitor user behaviors and posture to provide feedback to improve health and well-being. Six focus group interviews with a total of 45 participants were conducted. Among findings related to privacy concerns and impacts on work performance and productivity, this manuscript reports on generally positive responses of the focus group participants framed by the complex and diverse individual needs of office workers that AI systems should aim to accommodate. Read the full text ⟩
]]>On December 19, 2018 we were visited by members of the China Disabled Federation. Dongmei Li — Vice Director, Department of Education and Employment, Vice Director, Associate Researcher, China Rehabilitation Research Center; Tanling Wang — Associate Investigator, Social Service Section; Zixing Wang — Project leader, innovation and development department, university planning, construction and development center, Ministry of Education, P.R. China; Shuaihua Lin — Senior Staff, Educational Section, Department of Education and Employment; and Hong Zhang — Prof. of Translation/Interpretation (English); Project leader of International Communication, General Office were all on hand to learn and acquire greater knowledge of our research here at USC. Led by Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy Daniel Park and Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy China Initiative Coordinator Adley Chan, our visitors were well versed in the occupational sciences and many of the funded research project here at USC. Dongmei Li even commented on how preventative research dealing with the focus on the median nerve cross sectional area was very important work!
]]>Image Above: Serial sonographic images of the left carpal tunnel at the level of the pisiform. The participant was asked to open her hand with extended fingers (A), slowly flex her fingers to make a fist (B), hold the fist position for one second (C), and extend the fingers once again (D). As the participant makes a fist, the long flexor muscle belly (white arrow in A) retracts proximally into the forearm and is replaced by the flexor tendon (gray arrow in B). When the fingers are fully flexed, the lumbricals enter the carpal tunnel (blue arrows in C). Once the fingers return to extension, the long flexor muscle belly is seen in the tunnel once again (white arrow in D).
]]>Shawn Roll and Sandy Takata provided a successful and VERY well received presentation to a standing-room only audience at the 2018 conference of the American Society of Hand Therapists. The team presented on the use of sonographic imaging to better understand individual anatomical differences and the relative movements of structures within the carpal tunnel during functional hand use. Did you know that in some people you can actually pinpoint the exact movement, motion, or activity causes compression or entrapment of the median nerve?! Using musculoskeletal sonography to illuminate individual anatomical variants and risk factors for nerve compression is a perfect example of a precision medicine approach that assists therapists in targeting interventions to prevent, manage, or rehabilitate carpal tunnel syndrome. Read more about this and other active projects on our research page.
Kayla Gan and Annie Lee, students enrolled in Chan Division B.S. in Occupational Science program, have joined the lab for the 2018-19 academic year as part of the USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program (URAP). With funding from the USC Office of Undergraduate Education, the goal of this program is to support engagement of undergraduate students in collaborative research experiences with faculty. The students selected for this program will be directly engaged in MSOP research evaluating the use of sonographic imaging for early identification of median nerve pathology. Specifically, the research associates will be evaluating dynamic sonographic images to categorize movements and changes to the structure of the median nerve while individuals open and close their hands. These students will gain first hand experience and learn more about musculoskeletal anatomy, sonographic imaging, and the dynamic interactions that may be linked to the development of median nerve pathology.
]]>In the U.S., there are 81 million office workers who spend 75% or more of their day working at a desk. Unfortunately, increased daily sitting time is linked to significant health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Multiple other health-related issues arise in these workers due to poor ergonomic habits. Health conditions are further exacerbated by building-level control of environmental conditions, such a lighting and temperature. The team hopes that establishing symbiosis between the workstation and the worker will lead to improved environmental conditions and worker behaviors. Read more about the project ⟩
]]>The MSOP Lab team provided at total of five scientific presentations at this year’s American Occupational Therapy Association conference in Salt Lake City. Sandy Takata, Mark Hardison, and Shawn Roll presented findings and updates on various research projects that are underway in the lab, including information on integrating mind-body techniques into hand therapy, developing a video observation technique to identify risk for musculoskeletal disorders in dental hygienists, and evaluating anatomical structures within the carpal tunnel using sonography.
]]>The protocol developed for this preliminary analysis is now being deployed across our full data-set to identify metrics that can be used as potential risk factors in our longitudinal modeling of the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.
]]>Along with USC Keck Hospital Hand Therapists Aimee Aguillon and Janice Rocker, Dr. Roll and PhD Student Sandy Takata (pictured above l-r) provided a pre-conference institute at the 2017 annual conference of the American Society of Hand Therapists in Anaheim, CA — all the while sporting Micky & Minnie Mouse ears! At this four-hour, hands-on workshop, hand therapists were introduced to the use of musculoskeletal sonography and its many applications for enhancing assessment and intervention for hand therapy clients. Attendees received multiple hours of hands-on practice, learning how to use sonography and exploring the many structures in the hands that can be seen. The attendees even got a chance to see some of their own pathologies using the imaging!
Click on the links below for a few short clips of the hands-on sessions:
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