#labdaptations

Product Links

Check out these tools that I’ve adapted for the lab space! You can purchase them at the specified links.

#labdaptations for benchwork

Lab Bench Arm Rest

Provides arm support during repetitive and fine motor activities, such as pipetting and dissections. Height adjustable and easily movable. Cover with parafilm to help keep dry/clean.

  • A black arm rest is attached the a grey lab bench. In the right hand corner, Kat demonstrates usage of the arm rest by placing her right forearm on it while she pipettes with a blue glove on.
  • A scientist in a white lab coat and teal gloves holds a pipettor while resting their elbow on the arm rest, which is attached to the edge of the lab bench.

$30.00 on Amazon

Cap-It Tool

No more closing PCR strip tubes with your thumbs and fingers; let the ergonomic Cap-It Tool do the work for you! 

Pressure is applied through the Cap-It tool from the forearm instead of the finger joints, reducing joint strain, fatigue, & reliance on fine motor coordination. All 8 tubes can be closed in one graceful sliding motion!

  • A teal gloved hand holds a bright blue half-moon shaped plastic tool (cap it tool) via a handle. The hand is pushing down on the blue tool, to attach a strip of green lids to green tubes via a groove on the Cap-it Tool opposite the handle. The green tubes/lids reside in a bright orange grid.
  • A teal gloved hand holds the bright blue Cap- It tool, providing a side view.

$37.22 on Thermo Fisher

Magnetic Button Lab Coat

Replace standard buttons with magnetic ones to make putting on/taking off your lab coat a breeze! Reduces hand fatigue and dependence on fine motor control of the hands required for buttoning.

  • A zoomed in black and white photo of an individual’s gloved hands buttoning a lab coat. The lab coat contains magnetic buttons, which appear in gold
  • A square image split horizontally in the middle to feature two panels.The background for both panels is a lab bench in black and white that is slightly blurred. In each panel, a navy blue lab coat is on an arm that is extends straight out, away from the body. A light teal glove covers the hand. In the top panel, the lab coat is lose at the wrist. The bottom panel shows the navy lab coat tapered at the wrist.

30 magnetic buttons for $7.99 on Amazon

Dycem Grip Enhancer

Dycem works to increase grip and provide stability through its non-slip properties. When grip is increased, pain and fatigue are reduced, as less effort is needed to utilize objects. Great for opening bottles!

  • Side by side picture of a blue gloved hand holding a 500mL clear glass bottle with a lab bench and lab equipment in the background. In the left image, the hand is stretched so that the thumb is extended away from the fingers in order to grab the bottle. In the right image, red Dycem is placed in between the gloved hand and bottle in order to enhance grip. Using Dycem, the thumb does not need to be extended to grab the bottle and instead grips the bottle using a cupped position.

$14-22 on Arthritis Supplies

Eppendorf Tube Opener

Thumb hypermobility, decreased hand strength, and fatigue from repetitive motion can make opening eppendorf tubes difficult. With the use of the eppendorf tube opener, one can open tubes without pain or dislocations. Also a great tool for individuals with hand tremors.

  • A teal gloved hand uses a dark blue, plastic lever to open the Eppendorf tube.
  • A dark blue eppendorf tube opener rests on a grey lab bench.

$34.55 on Amazon

Excelta Forceps

Bulking up forceps helps to reduce the amount of hand strength needed to grasp small objects. The teal material also creates some friction, enhancing the grip.

  • 2 silver foreceps on a grey background. The bottom forecep has teal padding around the handle to provide better traction/grip.
  • 3 picture collage against a grey background. The left top image shows silver foreceps with teal padding from top down view. The upper right panel shows the same foreceps from the side. The bottom image shows a blue gloved hand holding the foreceps.

Multiple styles and prices

Helping Hands

Use the multifunctional Helping Hands tool to hold slides for you while you outline sections with a hydrophobic pen or to assist with dissections.

  • A teal gloved hand holds a hydrophobic pen underneath a gold magnifying glass. The hydrophobic pen is being used to write on a glass slide. The magnifying glass, and glass slide are supported by black rods attached to a bright orange base.
  • Two, teal gloved hands utilize the Helping Hands soldering platform to draw with a hydrophobic pen on a slide. The slide is supported by two alligator clamp, each attached to a bendable black rod, sequcred on a bright orange base. A gold magnifying glass also extends from the base.

$21.99 on Amazon

Motorized, low resistance pipettes

No need to exert or strain your thumb to take up or exert volume; instead the top button is lightly tapped. My favorite feature allows you to perform multiple dispenses of a given volume, reducing hand fatigue from repetitive movements.

  • 3 Sartorius pipettes rest on a holder. From left to right, the ejector buttons are colored yellow, orange, and blue, and distinguish what volumes the pipettes are capable of taking up.

Find them here through Sartorius

Slide Label Hack

Avery’s user-friendly website allows you to quickly generate stickers to prep slides with all the information you need.

  • Screenshot of Avery's website featuring label design. In the center of the screen is a vertical label with the number "17186" written on it. To the left, there is a dark grey panel with icons that allow you to custom design your labels including "text", "image", "import data", "shape", "QR and barcodes", and "sequential numbers". The righthand side of the screen features a navigator, which shows all 84 labels on a sheet. There is an option to "Edit all" labels or "edit one" label.
  • A glass microscope slide has a white avery label sticker on the left hand side. The sticker contains text with information about the tissue that will be sectioned onto the slide.

Design labels to print here

Avery Presta 94270 labels are the perfect size for slides

Beauty roller bone cryotape adherence hack

Apply pressure through a beauty roller, rather than your thumbs, to adhere sectioning tape to the block.

  • A green gloved hand presses a pink jade beauty roller against the piece of tape on the same block, reducing strain on thumb joint in a cryostat.

$10 on Amazon

#labdaptations at the desk

Foam Tubing

Add foam tubing to everyday objects to increase the width and decrease the grip strength needed to use.

  • 2 side by side panels of blue gloved hands holding a black pen. In the left panel, the pen is covered with a red foam cylinder. The right panel shows the same black pen without the foam covering.

$12 on Amazon

Pen Again

Ergonomic pen uses natural weight of hand to drive pressure needed to produce ink

  • 2 panel photo highlighting an ergonomic black pen. The left panel is a close up of the pen, while the right panel shows a hand using the pen to write the word "hello".

$7.22 on Amazon

Gamer Chair

Support your neck, upper back, and lumber regions with this high backed chair. Includes a foot rest and the ability to recline; great for those who need “gravity breaks”.

  • A large grey chair is shown against a white background. A black root rest extends from the seat of the chair.

$99.00 on Amazon

#labdaptations in lab and beyond

Ring Splints

Control range of motion, provide joint stability, or adjust finger joint positioning with ring splints. Great for a variety of conditions, from arthritis to hypermobility.

  • 4 black and white photos of hands arranged in a grid against a wooden background. In the first row (left image), the left side of the index finger is facing the ceiling. The joints at the base of the fingers are hypermobile and extended backwards. In the same row (right image), a silver ring corrects this hyperextension The ring resides on the middle finger and prevents backwards movement. On the bottom row (left image), a top down, side view of an index finger, in a pointing position. Extension of this finger shows the middle joint bending downward. In the bottom row (right image), the abnormal mobility of the middle joint is corrected with a ring splint. The ring has 2 holes and is connected at the base of those holes, such that the connection resides under the joint and one hole is below and above the middle joint. This design provides stability.

Silver Ring Splint Company

Plastic Ring Splint on Amazon