Hamid Norasi, Ph.D.

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SUMMARY

The research of Hamid Norasi, Ph.D., focuses on enhancing surgeons' well-being by improving surgical ergonomics in the operating room. The high intraoperative physical and mental workload in the operating room can cause work-related neuromusculoskeletal disorders. These neuromusculoskeletal disorders may lead to burnout and early retirement among surgeons. Dr. Norasi evaluates the source of intraoperative workload, and he designs, assesses, and deploys ergonomic interventions in the operating room. These ergonomic interventions mitigate the risk of developing neuromusculoskeletal disorders, enhance surgeons' quality of work and life, and prolong their careers.

Focus areas

• Operating room stretch microbreaks. Dr. Norasi studies the effects of taking active microbreaks during surgery to help surgeons and the surgical team with physical fatigue and body part discomfort. The current project answers questions regarding the best stretching moves depending on the surgical modality specialty, the optimum work-rest cycle strategy, and facilitators and barriers in the implementation of this ergonomic intervention.
• Ergonomics of surgical modalities. Dr. Norasi studies the impact of surgical modalities including open, endoscopic, laparoscopic and robotic surgery on surgeons' well-being. The main goal is to relate different surgical modalities to the most prevalent ergonomic issues and neuromusculoskeletal disorders. The findings concerning these modalities will help design targeter ergonomic interventions according to surgical modality.
• Creating a database of surgeons' hand anthropometrics. Surgical tools and instruments are mostly designed based on the measurements of average white male surgeons. This causes several problems for surgeons with hand sizes and strengths that are different from this widely accepted benchmark. Dr. Norasi is conducting a comprehensive study that investigates surgeons' hand sizes and strengths and the problems they face when using surgical instruments. The results of this study can provide a gold standard for manufacturers to improve the designs of surgical instruments.
• Ergonomics of da Vinci 5 robots. Robotic surgery is very popular, and research suggests that it can also help improve surgical ergonomics for surgeons. Dr. Norasi's goal is to verify whether robotic surgery is physically beneficial to surgeons. He provides surgeons with instructions and guidelines to ergonomically set up the robot console.
• Neck and back exoskeletons for surgeons. Exoskeletons have been tested and used in some industries to decrease workers' physical workloads. Dr. Norasi is evaluating the feasibility and applicability of exoskeletons in the operating room. These exoskeletons may help surgeons hold prolonged static postures — especially in the lower back and cervical spine — during long surgeries.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Norasi improves patient outcomes by helping physicians and surgeons. By enhancing surgical ergonomics, Dr. Norasi's work decreases surgeons' workload and work-related pain and discomfort. His efforts increase the quality of surgical care and prolong surgical careers. This means that more people have access to healthy surgeons.

Professional highlights

• Advancement Award in Honor of Dr. Aaron Leppin, Development of a Postural Risk Assessment Tool to Evaluate Surgeons' Neck Postural Exposure, Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, 2022.
• Best poster oncology, prostate section, American Urological Association 2, Intraoperative Workload During Robotic Radical Prostatectomy: Comparison Between Multi-Port Da Vinci Xil and Single Port Da Vinci SP Robots, Journal of Urology, 2022.
• Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University:
  • Research Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding research accomplishments in a graduate program, 2019.
  • Harold and Shirley Reihman Graduate Scholar Award, 2018.