On Tuesday 04 Sep 2007 10:26 am, Srini Ramakrishnan wrote: > I am considering getting an ergonomic vertical mouse, specifically an > Evoluent v3 > http://www.ergopro.com/index.cfm?obj=prodDetails&pID=439 > > Shiv, does the vertical mouse really make sense - by looking at the > twisted bones on the catalog pic, it certainly looks like the vertical > mouse will help.
On the face of it the mouse looks good in terms of hand orientation. But the wrist and the base of the inner side of the hand seem to be high up above the table which is good only for a person who needs to move the mouse once in a while. if you need to rest your hand on or near the mouse then the hand needs better support (or so it would seem from the picture) I wonder if anyone has made a mouse like a gaming joystick, with a low, comfortable platform to rest the inner side if the palm (the fleshy prominence just below the wrist and above the little finger), while keeping the forearm bones and muscles in an anatomically relaxed position (as in the Evoluent mouse). Another criticism of the Evoluent mouse: note that the index and other fingers remain relatively straight, which means more work for those delicate hand muscles (lumbricals and interossei) with every click. Having the fingers in a more "wrapped around" position (such as around a joystick or a gun trigger) would allow the powerful finger bending muscles to do their job without automatically staining the little muscles. Here are a couple of pictures of aircraft control columns that have been designed for comfort and functionality for long hours of use. I believe rodent designers need to take a leaf out of aircraft designers books http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/MiG-21_cockpit.jpg http://www.flightsim.com/howto/getreal1/f16sidestickcontroller.jpg shiv
