title: Validation of a software program for measuring fatigue-related changes in keystroke durations.
abstract: Intensive computer use has been associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Although the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood, muscle fatigue is thought to be a contributing factor. Previous studies have shown that keystroke durations are related to muscle twitch durations and may be used as a surrogate measure of muscle fatigue. Software tools have been developed to measure keystroke durations; however, the accuracy of these programs may be influenced by the computer and/or the operating system (OS). Keystrokes were collected from six subjects and analyzed to determine whether there were any differences in keystroke durations measured by an OS-dependant software program and keystrokes collected directly from the keyboard using a USB analyzer (gold standard). The results demonstrated that the OS-dependant software program underestimated keystroke durations by 3.8 ms (103.5 vs. 107.3 ms; p < 0.0001) but keystroke durations at the individual level were highly correlated between the two systems (R(2) = 0.997). Despite the small differences, the high correlation between systems indicated that the software program could be used to collect keystroke durations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. jhkim01@ uw.edu
authors.forename: Jeong Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003201:Computers; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology*; D010827:Physiology / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult