Medical surveillance is part of the requirements of the Regulations. The VibroSense Meter system is a versatile tool for most types of medical examinations related to hand-arm vibration.

The VibroSense Meter can be operated by a nurse or an assisting nurse or similar. Examinations can be divided into four categories:

• Screening
• Exposure-Based
• Subjective complaints
• Pre-employment

Screening surveys
This type of examination can be used as part of a risk assessment to get an idea of the medical status of a larger group. The investigation may also focus on finding people with problems. In a next step, these persons may then get a more rigorous control, such as the examination for people with Subjective complaints.

In many cases, it may be simpler or more useful to do a health screening, instead of measuring a variety of tools and estimate exposures.

The scope is typically limited to measuring one or two fingers on one hand with the VibroSense Meter, which brings the total investigation time of 15 minutes.
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Exposure-based surveys
The content and scope for this examination can be the same as in the “Subjective complaints examination”. According to regulations, all workers with a daily A(8) exposure of 2.5 m/s² or more shall get adequate medical health surveillance.

In some cases, you can choose to design the survey as the screening-based variant, if the investigated person does not claim to have subjective complaints.
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Subjective complaints surveys
This examination is recommended for people with pronounced symptoms or who do have a high daily exposure. It is also recommended that this examination shall be made on a regular basis.

The examination is a full investigation, which includes:

1. Recording of a vibrogram with the VibroSense Metres on four fingers (two per hand).
2. Answer a thorough questionnaire.
3. Bedside examination by a doctor.

Both items 1 and 2 are an integral part of the VibroSense Meter system. The results of these provide the physician with valuable information that can serve as a powerful diagnostic aid.

Step 1 and 2 above may be implemented at the same time and such an examination will then take about 30 minutes. The recommendation is that this type of survey shall be made at least once per year, although the regulation requires only once every three years.

The shorter interval is justified by the experience, which shows that a sensory impairment may deteriorate rapidly. The risk of developing an irreversible vibration damage will be increased with a three-year interval between examinations.
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Pre-employment
A compulsory examination for new employees. The scope should be identical to the “Subjective complaints survey”, to detect if there is any impairment prior to an appointment.

This type of examination can help an employer in several ways, including to demonstrate that a sensory loss has not occurred or worsened in the future workplace.
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