Whole-body shocks and vibrations experienced during manual wheelchair use can decrease an individual's comfort, increase the rate of fatigue, result in injury, and consequently limit mobility and community participation. We used a wheelchair-vibration simulator to examine whether the seat reaction forces experienced by wheelchair users were differentially influenced by wheelchair suspension, tr...

Both the percentage and raw number of people in need of wheelchairs are increasing every year. Unfortunately, wheelchair users are much more limited in access to conventional IT resources such as home computers and Internet, than their non-disabled counterparts. Moreover, no computer systems specifically designed and optimized for wheelchair users exist today that match the powerful desktop PC ...

Rehabilitation scientists and biomedical engineers have been investigating wheelchair propulsion biomechanics in order to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. Several studies have investigated wheelchair propulsion biomechanics; however, few have examined wheelchair propulsion stroke patterns. The purpose of this study was to characterize wheelchair propulsion stroke patterns by investigating join...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the presence of ultrasound (US) abnormalities in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI) using a quantitative Ultrasound Shoulder Pathology Rating Scale (USPRS). To investigate physical examination (PE) findings using a quantitative Physical Examination of the Shoulder Scale (PESS), and to obtain data about pain and other subject characteristics such as a...

The purpose of the present paper is to realize a high functionality of a power-assisted wheelchair with consideration of the driving environment. It is very important to recognize the environment in order to support wheelchair users and caregivers. In this paper, sensors are used to measure the state of the environment where is slope angle of uphill. Since these sensors implement to the wheelch...

This study evaluated a range of portable wheelchair ramps to highlight the effect of different product features on ease of use when wheelchair users climb curbs or access vehicles. Twelve portable ramps were evaluated. Although all the ramps were designed to load powered wheelchairs into motor vehicles, they were manufactured in different designs. The ramps were based on a "singlewide" platform...

Inspired by feminist post-structural thinking and with a discourse analytic approach, this study’s main theme is gendered identity, disability and sport. It consists of four separate, but interrelated, empirical studies and focuses on two research questions. Firstly, how do female and male wheelchair racers construct and perform their identities? Secondly, how are female and male wheelchair rac...

To what extent are employers willing to invite applicants in wheelchairs job interviews when the applicant is comparable not and can be conducted by a person wheelchair? We have first Danish field experiment with 1,200 fictive applications for real adverts four different functions measure independent effect of being wheelchair user. find significant difference callback rates. Wheelchair users n...

The results of this analytical study of wheelchair wheelie performance can be summarized into two wheelchair design equations, or rules of thumb, as developed in the paper. The equation containing the significant parameters involved in popping a wheelie for curb climbing is: fh = 0.8 mg theta c.g. [A] where fh is handrim force, m is the mass of the wheelchair + user less rear wheels, g is accel...

Wheelchair standards have been under development for several years. A set of tests has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and by the International Standards Organization (ISO) but continue to be refined. Static stability is one of the indicators used to evaluate manual wheelchairs and is measured by placing a loaded wheelchair on a platform that is tilted until th...