A glove design which reflects the changes in hand surface by hand motion can reduce the undesirable effects of use of gloves on hand performance. The present study examined changes in hand length dimensions due to hand motion and identified significant factors affecting the length changes. Recruiting 120 males and females in their 20s and 30s having various hand lengths, this study measured 10 hand length dimensions, defined at 2 hand areas(phalangeal and metacarpal areas) for 5 digits, when the hand is stretched and in fist, and then calculated the percentage of length increase for each dimension. ANOVA and simple-effect analyses showed the length change percentages were mainly different depending on digit and hand area: 111-127% at the phalangeal area and 112-116% at the metacarpal area. The length change percentages of the index, middle, ring, and little fingers in the phalangeal area ascended in order and showed a high correlation(r = 0.94)with the ranges of motion of the fingers.

We developed an accurate and reliable photogrammetric method available instead of the direct measurement method and the three-dimensional scanning method. Our research was restricted to a head on the body. Approaching three-dimensionally, we calibrated a distorted image of a photograph and got linear equations of camera beams. Then we assigned z values of landmarks in the head and obtained three-dimensional coordinates for each landmark putting those z values in linear equations of camera beams and finally could calculate measurement results from those three-dimensional coordinates. When we compared results obtained by a program, 'Venus Face Measurement(VFM)' that we had developed applying our method with results obtained by the direct measurement method, VFM showed very accurate and reliable results. In conclusion the photogrammetric method developed in this study was testified to an outstanding measurement method as a substitute for the direct measurement method and the three-dimensional scanning method.

Use of a glove made of materials with a low elasticity decreases the performance of the hand such as agility, dexterity, range of motion, and grip strength. The present study examined if the adverse effects of a low-elastic glove can be reduced by a design which accommodates the changes of hand surface lengths by hand motion. Two glove designs which provide patches of elastic cloth and pleats at the finger joints and knuckle were developed by considering the hand surface length changes, and then compared with two conditions(bare hand and conventional glove design that does not consider the dynamic characteristics of the hand dimensions) in terms of completion time in peg board insertion task, maximum grip strength, discomfort in hand motion, discomfort in force exertion, and overall discomfort by 24 right-handed participants. The test results confirmed that wearing of a glove significantly reduced the agility and grip strength capability of the hand and indicated that the novel designs were effective to lessen the performance decreases compared to the conventional design. Also, of the glove designs, the pleat glove design was found most preferred for both better hand performance and less subjective discomfort.

The mailman's shoes should be designed in due consideration of occupational features they spend most of times to walk. For that reason, the shoes required functions to reduce the foot fatigue and to protect body by dispersing the body weight to the whole foot. In this research, for the functional improvement of the insole, insoles are investigated and analyzed by biomechanics experimentation. Under the base of these experimental results, we develop insoles that can reduce the body load and muscular-skeletal disorder. The pressures are concentrated on the metatarsus and heel by the result of analyzing pressure distributions of the using shoes. Accordingly, we offer the prototype functional insole that is ranked from high pressure to low pressure on the base of a shock absorb function. This prototype functional insole is examined for statistical significance by pressure distribution areas. The experimental results show that pressure areas are dispersed to whole foot, for this reason, pressures of the metatarsus and heel are reduced. Results of this research can not only improve the function of insoles which is suitable for occupational features, but also be a base on constructing data bases for biomechanics gait insoles.

Resulting anthropometric data recently measured and cataloged through 5th national anthropometric survey that is called Size Korea is highly useful in clothing industries. This study aims at suggesting a statistical methodology for apparel sizing that reflects recent changes in Korean anthropometry and improves customer fitness. Based on previous research on body types such as triangular, rectangular, inverted body types, etc., factors that represent human sizes were extracted and then clustered into groups by their body types. These body type-based groups with respect to the factors obtained yielded a sizing system of which the interval of each factor is of equi-distance by their factor scores. However, each interval of the sizing system is non-linear in terms of individual anthropometric variables. The sizing system being proposed in this study was compared to that of KS K 0050 and had a broader coverage for the Korean population surveyed. The apparel sizing scheme is expected to improve customer fitness when applied to garment sizing and to provide more information on what percentage of population is included in each classification.

The purpose of the study is to suggest a methodology for properly categorizing the body type of Koreans based on the multivariate statistical analysis. Anthropometric data used in the study were measured from the sampled strata of about fifteen thousand Koreans surveyed through the 5th national anthropometic data measurement project called Size Korea funded by ATS, Korea, during 2003-2004. In order to categorize whole body types, the normalized anthropometric variables, being divided by its stature, were used for obtaining a set of factors that supposedly represent body types through the factor analysis. These factors, which were again clustered, yielded the body types according to the gender. The body types classified are expected to be applied to product design for clothing, furniture, automobile packaging, etc.

This study aim to investigate the effects of supply of oxygen enhances cerebral activation through increased activation in the brain and using a 3 Tesla fMRI system. Five volunteers (right handed, average age of 21.3) were selected as subjects for this study. Oxygen supply equipment that provides 30% oxygen at a constant rate of 15L/min was given using face mask. A 3 Tesla fMRI system using the EPI BOLD technique, and three-pulse sequence technique get of the true axial planes scanned brain images. The author can get the perfusion images of the brain by oxygen inhalation with susceptibility contrast EPI sequence at the volunteers. Complex movement consisted of a finger task in which subjects flexed and extended all fingers repeatedly in union, without the fingers touching each other. Both task consisted of 96 phases including 6 activations and rests contents. Post-processing was done on MRDx software program by using cross-correlation method. The result shows that there was an improvement in performance and also increased activation in several areas in the oxygen method. These finding demonstrates that while performing cognitive tasks, oxygen administration was due to increase of cerebral activation.

This study examined the effect of ergonomic heel rest that was designed for drivers who have physical handicap in the low leg muscles or have to drive prolonged hours with frequent foot pedaling. An experiment was designed to test the ergonomic heel rest with traditional foot pedal. Forty subjects participated in the experiment. Electromyography(EMG) was used to monitor the muscle activity and fatigue of right leg, and Electro-goniometer was used to measure the ranges of motions of the knee and ankle. A simulator of driver's seat was built for the experiment and the heel rest was installed on it. In order to examine the low muscle activity and range of motion, subjects used the foot pedal for 15 minutes repetitively for each experimental condition. Another 15 minutes test without the heel rest was also performed for comparison. The Root Mean Square(RMS) and Mean Power Frequency(MPF) Shift were used to quantify the level of muscle activity and local muscle fatigue. In results, statistically significant decreases of muscle activity and fatigue were found in all the low leg muscles. The range of motion of the knee and ankle joint also decreased when the heel rest was used. The mechanism of the heel rest effect was discussed in this study. This type of heel rest can be applied to real driving situation after ensuring the safety, or overcoming the psychological discomfort possibly due to unfamiliarity.

A laboratory study was performed to evaluate the effects of an aid(i.e. stick) on joint loadings. Six healthy young participants were recruited from Virginia Tech student population. Each participant has performed three normal walking and three stick walking trials. Normalized and integrated, ground reaction forces(GRFs) and joint moments were measured at ankle, knee, and hip joints from kinematic and kinetic data. The result suggests that stick walking significantly reduces vertical ground reaction force and joint moments at ankle and knee compared to normal walking.

As the number of functions in a menu increases, users have more difficulties in finding a desired function. Previous studies have shown that some functions are selected more frequently than others, and have suggested adaptive menus that support the selection of frequently used functions. Interestingly, studies on an adaptive toolbar are not easy to find as opposed to many studies on adaptive menus. This study suggested an adaptive toolbar (AT) that supported function selection, and conducted a usability test. Five or ten functions were presented in the AT according to the frequency of use or recency of use. A total of sixteen males in their twenties participated in the test. They freely selected functions from the menu or from the AT, and their pattern of selecting functions was analyzed. The results showed that the AT was more frequently used than the menu as time passed. The AT based on the recency of use showed more effective performance than that based on the frequency of use. In addition, keeping ten functions was better than five functions in terms of both performance and preference.

Efforts to identify jobs or tasks having known risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorder can provide the groundwork for changes aimed at risk reduction. An effective identification method is the ergonomic job hazard analysis which breaks a job into its various elements or actions, describes them, measures and quantifies the ergonomics risk factors. Some analytical methods including OWAS, RULA, REBA, and NLE have been used as tools in quantifying the risk factors. But these traditional methods using worksheet or paper are difficult to explain to participants for performing the job hazard analysis in the field, and take a long time. We develop some software tools to implement the analytical methods using EXCEL programs or computer program. These tools developed in this study are faster and easier to perform the ergonomic job analysis than the traditional methods using worksheet.