Determining Work Functional Capacity Using Interpolation of Clinical Data Set

We have developed a unique medical-physics tool to estimate an injured individual’s work limitations in the workers’ compensation system. Currently, determining an individual’s functional ability to lift, push, and pull is a highly subjective and variable event that depends on a clinician’s experience. Incorrect estimates introduce problems for injured workers, employers, and other stakeholders in a workers’ compensation claim, such as reinjury caused by premature return to work or delayed return to full duty. Using mathematical rulesets and fundamental physics, this tool may minimize further injury and assist in setting accurate return to work conditions for an individual. This work is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the medical field and physics community.