Collecting data during Covid 19

[Justus Ortega]

Dear Colleagues,

I am trying to find out if anyone has established written protocols for collecting EMG, indirect calorimetry, kinematics/kinetics data under Covid conditions.....that have been approved by your university.

I work in the California State University system where very few face-to face classes will be taught. I am not sure if data collection under these circumstances can be done safely, especially indirect calorimetry. Any ideas, suggestions or better yet examples of written protocols would be extremely helpful.

Thank you for your help.

Justus Ortega
Humboldt State University
jdo1@humboldt.edu

[Edmund Cramp]

If your State and University has created rules then, at a minimum these local rules should be followed. These are just my thoughts on this issue, specific to collecting data in a gait or bio-mechanics lab; the first step, before you start collecting data, should be to make the data collection environment as clean as possible for both the subjects and the people working in the lab. Social distancing and wearing masks appears to be effective, and verifying that nobody walking into the lab has a temperature and might be infected, should help. In addition, it will probably be best if everyone who comes into close contact with the subject wears medical scrubs to prevent cross-contamination.

If you are sitting at a keyboard to control the data collection, then the control environment (computer keyboard, mouse, desk, and seat) may need to be cleaned if there are multiple data collections by different people. Anyone sitting at a computer should wear a mask.

The data collection area should be cleaned before anyone enters it, and then cleaned again after the data collection has ended - basically wiping down any areas that come into contact with the subject using disinfecting wipes, and if the subject is walking barefoot across the lab then the floor will need to be cleaned.

All data collection sensors (accelerometers, goniometers, EMG sensors etc) and other items used for data collection (markers for 3D motion capture etc) need to be disinfected before use, as well as any items that the subject comes into physical contact with such as force plates, treadmill surfaces, hand rails, etc. In most cases they can be wiped clean with disinfecting wipes or sprayed with a disinfecting spray and then, if they are wet after cleaning, dried before use.

It may be worthwhile purchasing additional sets of interchangeable sensors and other items so that all of the items in contact with the subject can be cleaned and disinfected immediately after a testing session, while the second set of sensors and markers are applied to the next subject. Note that wiping electronic items with a disinfecting solution has the potential for liquid to get into the housing in some cases and could affect the sensor performance.

It would probably be safest if the person preparing the subject, and applying markers and sensors to the subject, wears gloves and medical scrubs, using disposable tape or wraps to secure various items to the subject so that after the testing is completed, these disposable items can be discarded. Any markers or sensors touching the subject during the testing must be cleaned and disinfected before being reused.