Lakehead University to Use Santos Digital Human Modeling for Workplace Research
Lakehead University’s School of Kinesiology plans to integrate Santos digital human modeling software into their studies of the relationship between workplace factors, task performance strategies and injuries in complex work environments. They will also incorporate Santos into ergonomics courses through the Santos University Program.
“Santos provides a unique platform to model human performance,” said Dr. Kathryn E. Sinden, assistant professor in Lakehead University’s School of Kinesiology.
“In particular, the ability to modify and pilot modifications to task performance strategies enables important insights into tool and performance redesign recommendations prior to implementation.
“Our group is working to bridge the lab-to-field gap that exists in applied ergonomic research. We believe that integrating Santos into our current measurement strategy will improve the fidelity of our approach towards better interventions,” Dr. Sinden said.
The research group plans first to integrate Santos into their injury assessment approach with wearable technology and app-based platforms. They will then use higher fidelity equipment to determine impacts of task performance in the field with lab-based simulations to inform injury prevention strategies.
Dr. Sinden added that undergraduate and graduate students will improve their understanding of the interrelationship between task performance strategies and injury risk factors.
“We believe that integrating both theory and practical components in our students’ experience will improve their ability to develop and implement evidence-based injury prevention strategies as they move forward into ergonomic practice,” she said.
Steve Beck, CEO with SantosHuman Inc., said Lakehead University has made an excellent choice to partner with Santos.
“We’ve been talking with Kathryn for a while and are very excited to be providing solutions that assist with her educational and research goals while welcoming another leading kinesiology program into the Santos University Program,” Beck said .
The Santos University Program partners with institutes of higher education to provide its products for non-commercial, educational, and/or research purposes. The most recent partnerships in Europe and North and South America now include Nipissing University, University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of California-Berkeley, Oregon State University, Politecnico di Milano, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, the University of Waterloo and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2019 UniversityRankings place Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities and in 2018 Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the fourth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.