A new hybrid wheelchair/bed system for assisting the bedridden has been developed and tested. The powered wheelchair docks with a stationary bed and reconfigures to a chair to provide full mobility assistance by eliminating the need to transfer the bedridden person from bed to chair. Furthermore, the chair can dock directly and automatically with a toilet to eliminate the need to change seating...

A new hybrid wheelchair/bed system for assisting the bedridden has been developed and tested. The powered wheelchair docks with a stationary bed and reconfigures to a chair to provide full mobility assistance by eliminating the need to transfer the bedridden person from bed to chair. Furthermore, the chair can dock directly and automatically with a toilet to eliminate the need to change seating...

Although less common than conventional front caster wheelchairs, rear caster wheelchairs are still in use for several reasons. Many people find manual rear caster wheelchairs easier to maneuver indoors at slow speeds. This is especially true when the user attempts to maneuver the wheelchair very close to an object, such as a table. Electric wheelchairs often have rear casters to accommodate for...

Objective The objective of the wheelchair performance evaluation with the PAU was to determine the characteristics which define its level of operation. The intended use for the information collected is to identify the weak performance areas of the power assist. These areas can be addressed in future design iterations. The following characteristics of the power assist device were evaluated in th...

Many aspects relating to equipment configuration affect users' actions in a manual wheelchair, determining the overall mobility performance. Since the equipment components and configuration determine both stability and mobility efficiency, configuring the wheelchair with the most appropriate set-up for individual users' needs is a difficult task. Several studies have shown the importance of sea...

The paper discusses several control techniques for a class of systems described by fractional order equations. presents the unit frequency criteria that ensure closed loop for: Fractional Order Linear Systems, Systems with nonlinear components, Time Delay components. stability criterion is proposed composed subsystems. These are used in two applications: Soft Exoskeleton Glove Control, studied ...

PURPOSE To describe the clinical features of electric powered indoor/outdoor wheelchair (EPIOC) users with rare diseases (RD) impacting on EPIOC provision and seating. METHOD Retrospective review by a consultant in rehabilitation medicine of electronic and case note records of EPIOC recipients with RDs attending a specialist wheelchair service between June 2007 and September 2008. Data were s...

OBJECTIVE To examine wheelchair athletes' perceptions of wheelchair configuration in relation to aspects of mobility performance. METHODS Nine elite wheelchair athletes from wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Interview transcripts were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, whereby emergent themes...