BACKGROUND For people who have a mobility impairment, access to an appropriate wheelchair is an important step towards social inclusion and participation. The World Health Organization Guidelines for the Provision of Manual Wheelchairs in Less Resourced Settings emphasize the eight critical steps for appropriate wheelchair services, which include: referral, assessment, prescription, funding and...

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to report the current incidence of wheelchair breakdowns, repairs, and consequences and to compare current data with historical data. DESIGN A convenience sample survey of 723 participants with spinal cord injury who use a wheelchair for more than 40 hrs/wk treated at a Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems center was conducted. RESULTS Significant increases...

Many older adults in long-term-care homes have complex physical and cognitive impairments and have difficulty propelling manual wheelchairs. Power wheelchair use is restricted owing to safety concerns. Power wheelchairs with collision-avoidance features are being developed to enable safe and independent mobility; however, a paucity of information exists on interface features to help users navig...

Many people who have to rely on powered wheelchairs find it hard to fulfill daily navigation tasks with their chairs. The SmartWheeler project aims at developing an intelligent wheelchair that minimizes the physical and cognitive load required in steering it. In this paper we briefly outline the SmartWheeler project and its goals. We then argue that it is important to have a standardized test t...

This document gives information about the usage of wheelchairs based on renewable energy systems. The renewable energy systems which are discussed in this paper are batteries and solar panels. It also gives a report on the efficiency and durability of batteries and solar panels.Explanatory material is followed by a worked example and problems with answers. ————————————————————

The experimental and theoretical procedures used to gather ergonomic data and derive theoretical estimates of stability, effort, and safety in use of a curb-climbing aid for standard manual wheelchairs are presented. The aid, intended for use of paraplegic persons, employs ramps which the user while seated in the chair can deploy and retrieve using attached telescoping rods. Ramps and rods may ...

Many people with severe disabilities find it difficult or even impossible to use traditional powered wheelchairs independently by manually controlling these electrical devices. Intelligent wheelchairs are a very good solution to assist severely handicapped people who are unable to operate classical electrical wheelchair by themselves in their daily activities. This paper describes a development...