Latest Evolution Of The Ergonomic Mouse - Hippus HandShoeMouse With Laser Or High-Resolution BlueRay
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Over the years, many approaches have been taken in developing a wide variety of different computer pointing devices with improved ergonomics. Some of these have been tweaks and variations on the standard computer mouse form factor, such as Contour's Perfit Mouse family that has been around in a variety of iterations since the mid-'90s.
The Contour Perfit Mouse -- or just Contour Mouse as it has been recently renamed -- comes in a variety of sizes, five right handed versions, and three left handed versions which Contour claims permits performance and ergonomic benefits that simply can't be achieved by any "one size fits all" mouse. The Mouse is available in extra-small, small, medium, large, and extra-large for the right hand and small, medium and large for the left hand, and is designed to fit the hand so precisely that multiple sizes are necessary to maximize the total impact of the ergonomic design.
The $109.95 Contour Mouse is engineered to minimize biomechanical load and to reduce hand and arm deviations from the neutral pronation position, with its top surface contoured to fit the palm of the hand to disperse pressure across the palm during use, and the thumb side of the mouse is higher than the other to minimize pronation strain. There is also a support provided for the thumb, which allows movement of the mouse with reduced Pinch Force which is known to increase the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
For more information, visit:
http://ergo.contourdesign.com/products/product-detail.aspx?id=36
A more radical design also dating back to ADB days is the 3M Wireless Ergonomic Mouse, which features a leaning joystick-shaped pistol-grip mounted on top of a flattened mouse base, with a rocker thumb-button for L/R clicking. Unlike conventional mice, which force your hand and forearm into a stressed, unnatural, flattened attitude, this mouse allows your hand to remain in a relaxed, thumb-uppermost attitude, reducing muscle loading and relieving pressure on the median nerve. Mouse movement was accomplished mainly by sweeping forearm movements rather than wrist flexing. Unfortunately, sweeping forearm movements from the elbow are not quite the ideal body-English for picking out individual tiny pixels.
The $119.99 3M Wireless Ergonomic Mouse is available in Large and Small sizes. The large size fits hands measuring 3.5 to 4 inches across the palm of your hand at the base of your fingers (where your four fingers meet your palm). The Small size is for persons with hands measuring 2.75 to 3.5 inches.
Currently offered for $58.36 from Amazon.com:
http://tinyurl.com/y955wnr
A completely different angle on ergonomic mouse design and engineering is the "gripless" Aero2bic (formerly "Quill") "biomechanical" mouse, which like the 3M unit orients your hand in more natural, relaxed pronation and resting in a comfortable channel, allowing you to move the pointer without any gripping stress on your hand or arm muscles, so your hand remains relaxed. By rotating the hand into the "handshake" position, the $99.95 AirO2bic Mouse is available in both right and left-handed versions, and not only removes the "twist" from then arm so "unwinding" the Median nerve, but it also removes the usual "bend" of the wrist that users adopt when the mouse is lower than the arm. The "handshake" position supported by the Aero2bic guides the user into having the forearm at the same height as the mouse. The Wrist Guide then maintains the arm/wrist/hand configuration within Biomechanically sound degrees of flex.
One places one's hand into the Quill's channel in a "handshake" orientation, so that the mouse's "button mound" meets and supports the forefinger and palm of the hand comfortably. The heel of the hand, the wrist, and the forearm rest in the channel or "wrist and arm guide," and the thumb is free to float or rest on the outside of the button mound. Most of the mouse tracking movement is made from the elbow and shoulder rather than from the wrist or fingers.
For more information, visit:
http://www.aerobicmouse.com/
Perhaps most radical of all is Contour's $199.95 RollerMousePRO, its latest version of the "Classic" RollerMouse updated with an extended rollerbar -- 67% longer than the original version's bar -- a repositioning of the scroll wheel and newly reshaped original three buttons, and selectable, hard-coded function options.
Rollerbars consist of a round bar situated between the computer keyboard and the user, who manipulates the cursor through a combination of rolling the bar on its axis and sliding it laterally back and forth in its housing, allowing you to keep elbows comfortably at your side, which is a more ergonomic posture. Rollerbar operation is actually a lot more intuitive than it sounds, and the theory is that roller bars reduce physical stress, especially on the elbows and shoulders, by eliminating the reaching necessary when using any mouse - whether conventional or ergonomic.
The RollerMouse is manipulated with an unflexed hand, with no need to grip the device in order to navigate the cursor. Instead your fingertips roll a narrow bar both up and down and from side to side simultaneously to navigate the cursor over the entire screen, with very little friction or resistance. The elimination of finger-flexing avoids stressing the carpal tunnel. Moreover, rollerbars promote equal use of both hands, spreading the stress and reducing risk of injury to the dominant “mousing” hand.
Contour Design's RollerMouse is designed to be used with standard computer keyboards that have a rectangular form factor and a straight edge on the user side. Recognized by Call Center Magazine as a 2002 product of the year, the RollerMouse controls the cursor without the need to grip or reach for a mouse, and requires minimal space. Button controls are centrally located beneath the space bar. The RollerMouse is also ideal for workspaces with no room for a mouse. It frees up space, providing more room for user with close working conditions.
I've tested the Contour RollerMouse quite extensively, and while it takes some getting used to and I've found it not ideal for fine detail work like serious graphics editing, but it is indeed extremely, even seductively comfortable and low-stress.
For more information, visit:
http://ergo.contourdesign.com/products/product-detail.aspx?id=2
There are plenty other Ergonomic mouse products and designs, but I've limited my preamble to ones I've tested and used as a review of the topic bringing us up to the main subject of this article the HandshoeMouse Ergonomic Mouse a new, state-of-the-art, ergomouse by Hippus NV of The Netherlands.
Designed by a Dutch medical university and field tested for almost two years, Hippus HandshoeMouse Computer Mouse products can, subject to correct use, to minimize the user-stress that can result from mousing with devices that have to be gripped, especially with the palm, the inner wrist and forearm twisted through a quarter turn away from the natural thumb-uppermost resting position of the hand and wrist. The rotation creates a strain through the arm and into the shoulder that can reduce blood flow and increase pressure on the Median nerve and other nerves of the mousing limb, which may in turn lead to pain and tingling sensations that can indicate the onset of trauma and if not corrected, lead to more permanent damage.
Forceful gripping or hovering of the hand and fingers above mouse buttons has been identified as a major contributory factor in the development of several physical complaints affecting the neck, shoulders, arms and hands. Mouse-gripping may also result in tension in the deep neck muscles, which in turn may lead to a reduction of the space between first rib and clavicular bone which could even translate into pressure on nerves and a restricted blood flow in arms and hands.
Examples of mousing-related complaints are:
* headaches radiating from the neck area
* tingling feeling in arms and hands
* reduced mobility of the head
* loss of force in the hands
* obstruction of blood flow
* numb feeling
A team of medical and ergonomic specialists from Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands used electromyogram (EMG) measurements to show the muscle activity of hand and fingers when using a mouse. They found that relaxation in neck, shoulders, arms and hands can be realized by means of a reduction of force when handling a mouse.
The Hippus HandshoeMouse is now available in North America, targeting the estimated 25% of the total work force who may be suffering from RSI symptoms.
Like the Aero2bic Mouse discussed in the first section of this review, the HandshoeMouse is different from conventional computer mice in that there is no need to hold on to, or grip the mouse; your hand, thumb and fingers are supported in the optimal, relaxed position, and there is no friction between the skin of your hand and the desktop.
Three core ideas are behind the design of the HandshoeMouse:
1) Slanting the angle of the mouse downward from the thumb to reduce wrist pronation;
2) By elongating the incline of the mouse slightly from the wrist upward to reduce wrist extension
3) By allowing the hand to rest on the mouse in a neutral position to reduce gripping and pinch force, most injuries associated with mousing can be reduced or largely eliminated.
The Hippus HandshoeMouse mouse allows you to move the pointer without any gripping stress on your hand or arm muscles, which remain relaxed. The more natural, relaxed hand position supported by The HandShoe guides the user into having the forearm at the same height as the mouse. The mouse's wrist rest channel maintains the arm/wrist/hand configuration within Biomechanically sound degrees of flex.
One places one's hand into the HandshoeMouse's hand well so that the mouse's button mound meets and supports the forefinger and palm of the hand comfortably. The heel of the hand, the wrist, and the forearm rest in a contoured channel on the top of the mouse with a second rest surface for the thumb on the outside of the button mound. This orientation is comfortable and relaxed. The HandShoeMouse is nearly as wide as it is long, and reminds me of Manta Rays in form factor, and I was gratified to discover that these mice felt very comfortable right from the start.
Most mouse tracking movement is initiated from the elbow and shoulder rather than from the wrist or fingers. It takes some getting used to, and is not as precise for small detail work as are fine motor movements of the hand and wrist, but it is less stressful and more comfortable once you have become acclimatized.
With this mouse interface orientation, there is no longer any need to use the fingertips to press the mouse buttons, causing the fingers to "claw." A small movement of the finger from the big joint where it meets the hand is sufficient to press the HandshoeMouse buttons, which have a positive action with a nicely-weighted compromise between precision and light, low-stress effort. The scroll wheel can be rolled with the inside of the middle or index finger, and while it works just fine, it is detented, which I'm not crazy about, having been spoiled by the superb weighted, free-wheeling (detents can be disabled or enabled) scroll wheels on certain Logitech mice such as a V-550 model that I use a lot.
HandshoeMouse mice are available in wireless or corded versions, but I tested only corded models. Especially with a large pointing devices like this HandshoeMouse (which I doubt would be the first choice of many users as a rodent for Road Warriors to pack along, although it does come in a nice fleece drawstring carry-bag), I fail to see any advantage of a cordless mouse other than freeing up a USB port in the instance of Bluetooth units.
These HandShoe mice are among the largest I have ever used. Even the medium size models I tested cover a large percentage of a standard mouse pad, and will be most comfortably accommodated by an oversized mouse pad, such as the SteelSeries SteelPad 4D gaming that mousepad I use.
The mousepad real estate it covers notwithstanding, the HandshoeMouse is amazingly light, and actually feels even lighter than it is because of its formidable size. The Canadian distributor (see address and contact info below) also notes that the weight of the HandshoeMouse can even be lessened slightly, if desired, by removing metal and plastic ballast weights housed in the mouse's enclosure. The weights, located in the outer chamber of the underside are specifically included by default to allow the user to reduce the weight of the mouse, and research by Hippus NV determined the pivot weights for the various sizes, although they do not actively promote this feature of the mouse. However, some users (of which this writer is one) prefer a lighter mouse, and it is very easy to just remove a few weights. The medium sized HandshoeMouse we tested weighs about 210 grams in standard weighted trim.
Applelinks tested both a standard optical tracking sensor HandShoeMouse liveried in optional red, and a black pre-production demonstrator unit of Hippus's new BlueRay Track model that Hippus kindly made available. Both were medium sized models. The just-released BlueRay Track model unit with its Blue Ray laser sensor works on almost any surface without a mouse pad — for example I found that it tracks perfectly on glass and with acceptable precision on my trouser-leg.
The new BlueRay Track HandShoeMouse is largely identical in its form factor to the older optical model, but does incorporate some improvements - a notable example of which being the size of the mouse's glide pads (which provide roughly 3x the total contact area of the standard HandShoeMouse's pads as shown in the photo), and make it a significantly smoother and lower-effort tracker. Both HandshoeMouse are a low-effort units, however, gliding effortlessly on the mouse pad. The detents on the BlueRay Track HandshoeMouse also had a better feel, but that might have just been a production variation
The BlueRay Track sensor also provides a tangible improvement in pointing "feel" - and the blue laser is kinda cool as well.
In Europe, the brand name "Horse" (or in Dutch "Paard") was initially used for these mice, which were as noted above developed with Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam and later transferred to Hippus NV - a spinoff of the university, the logic being that the mouse acts like a saddle for the hand. Hippus's Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Ing. Paul Helder, says this was to differentiate from the conventionally used word Mouse for a computer mouse, and also to hopefully get a smile on people's faces and start them talking about the mouse's development, which is exactly what Hippus wanted.
However, says Helder, "when we expanded to international markets, we had to do something about the name. The name HandshoeMouse with the subscript 'fits like a glove,' was tested in the US market and was generally accepted. In marketing terms it is a so called stop word. We all know that a glove is a glove and not a hand shoe. So, people start thinking."
The BlueRay Track tracking sensor is the latest advancement in HandshoeMouse technology, using a BlueRay tracking engine instead of conventional laser. The new BlueRay Track HandshoeMouse was first demonstrated during the National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition (NECE) in Las Vegas, Nevada from November 17-20, 2009. The BlueRay Track HandshoeMouse will be available in wired and wireless versions.
The BlueRay Track Engine is based on a double lens optical system in combination with a blue LED and a specific light frequency which supports a far higher definition of the underlying surface resulting in a higher accuracy and a broader range of surfaces on which you can work without having to use a mousepad. For instance your trouser leg will work as a tracking surface.
"This new cutting edge BlueRay Track technology will take the HandshoeMouse forward in a different league, where ergonomic and technological claims can be proven and supported by research and field reports,” says Dr. Helder. Certainly in testing the laser and BlueRay HandshoeMouse models back-to-back, the BlueRay unit has a definite precision edge, although the laser model is no slouch either.
I asked Dr. Helder if Blue Track eventually replace the laser version. He said he doubts that Laser will be replaced by BlueRay and that both types of mouse sensors will continue to be marketed., however all future production will will be phased the BlueRay technology for the HandshoeMouse, which Mr. Helder affirms is a superior technology that can easily compete with laser for general use, CAD designers, Architects, general office work etc. The BlueRay Track models are also expected to be especially attractive to serious gamers, who require extremely high definition. For example, recently Philips Electronics introduced a 5000 dpi Laser, specifically for the gaming market.
The red standard laser HandshoeMouse I tested was made in the Netherlands, while the black Blue Track model was made in China, so I asked Dr. Helder if Hippus is shifting production to China.
He explained that initially the company acquired electronics from China and assembled the mice in the Netherlands. Due to the complexity of the the shape of the body of the HandshoeMouse all molding was executed in the Netherlands. Then in a second phase of product development they shipped the body parts to China, assembled the electronics, packaged the mice and sent them back to the Netherlands again, a very cumbersome process.
Recently Hippus transferred their molding operation and thus the entire production, to their production partner in China, and the BlueRay based BlueRay Track model is the first to be produced completely in China.
Because the HandshoeMouse is designed to fit your hand like a glove, it must be able to accommodate different hand sizes and comes in both a left and right hand versions. Consequently there are six different models available, with hand sizes (left and right) corresponding to hands measured from the tip of the ring finger to the wrist crease in large (210 mm or 8.25"), medium (190 mm or 7.5"), and small sizes (170 mm or 6.75"). Left-hand sizes are manufactured on demand and cost up to four times the price of right-hand versions. Dr. Helder tells me that Hippus first made one mould, medium size. Then at a later stage, after some teething problems they made a mould for the small size, and finally, in response to requests from large people with large hands, they made the large size as well. When ordering a HandshoeMouse, it is recommended that you measure your hand (instructions are posted on the Hippus and reseller Websites) and order the appropriate size for your hands.
Dr. Helder also noted that in view of the type of work done by CAD designers, whereby they use their middle finger or index finger to switch by means of pressing the scroll wheel, Hippus was were asked to include a third button on the large size HandshoeMouse. This button has the same function as this switch function of the scroll wheel. The result is that it alleviates the load on the Index and Middle fingers and includes the ring finger, thereby providing a less strenuous operating condition. Unfortunately, in the the small and medium sizes there is not room to accommodate this third button.
The HandshoeMouse is plug and play, and no special drivers for Mac or PC are needed, and low end Mac users will be happy to hear that OS 9 is supported. Controls consist of 2 buttons at an ergonomic position and a scroll wheel fitted with a switch mechanism, plus the third switch aforementioned on the large size model.
The HandshoeMouse is sophisticatedly engineered, well-constructed from what appear to be high-quality materials. It succeeds at its design objective of creating a comfortable, low-stress pointing device. It's not cheap, but if it helps diminish hand, wrist, arm, or shoulder pain associated with computer use for you, it should prove well worth the price.
Dimensions
• Large: 5.375" W x 7.25" D
• Medium: 4.875" W x 6.625" D
• Small: 4.5" W x 5.875" D
Hand sizes:
• Large: 8.25" or 210 mm
• Medium: 7.5" or 190 mm
• Small: 6.75" or 170 mm
Weight (both wired and wireless)
• Large: 250 g
• Medium: 200 g
• Small: 120 g
Buttons
• 2 for small and medium
• 3 for large
Connection specs.:
• USB 1.1 (compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0)
• Separate USB connection on the HandshoeMouse
• Battery wireless version is charged with USB cable
Controls:
• Two buttons at ergonomic position plus scroll wheel
• Scroll wheel Fitted with switch
Control mechanism
• optical 800 dpi (BlueRay Track under development projected for late December release)
Wireless Version Specs:
• Poll rate (Hertz) of the electronics is 113~118Hz and up to 120Hz.
• Wireless range of the receiver is 10 m
• Receiver / dongle is fitted with a LED light which goes on and off when operating the mouse.
• The wireless HandshoeMouse uses a lithium ion battery which can only be removed by professional service providers.
• Battery life is around 2 years.
• Operating time for the wireless version is around 4 weeks.
• Charging of the wireless version takes around 3 hours.
• Charging takes place by means of USB cable; The PC or laptop needs to be switched on during charging.
One can continue working while charging the battery; the micro receiver/dongle must be in place.
Warranty
• 2 years
Operating systems supported:
• Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X
• Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, XP or Vista
• Unix
Current U.S. Pricing: $125.96 (corded) $152.99 (cordless).
In Canada, the Hippus HandshoeMouse (Laser) currently sells for CDN $115.00 (corded) and CDN $135.00 (cordless).
For more information, visit:
http://www.HandshoeMouse.com/
Get a free download of the research presentation of Erasmus University by clicking on the link below:
http://www.HandshoeMouse.com/Research.html
HandshoeMouse is available in the U.S. from:
Ergo Works, Inc.
420 Olive Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
http://www.askergoworks.com/keyboards_mice.aspx
Tel: +1 650-322-9775
Fax: +1 650-322-9770
In Canada:
Micwil Group of Companies
Ergonomics Portal: ErgoCanada.com
102 Wheeler Street
Saskatoon, SK S7P 0A9
Canada
http://tinyurl.com/yfsj7m6
Tel: (306) 382-5995,
Fax: (306) 382-4995
Toll Free: (866) 335-3746 (ERGO)
Charles W. Moore
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