A survey among 127 wheelchair users was conducted to characterize wheelchair occupant restraint usage patterns, restraint deficiencies, user characteristics, and essential wheelchair occupant restraint design parameters for when individuals travel in motor vehicles while seated in their wheelchairs. Survey respondents value independent travel and seem generally interested in the use of an occup...

Wheelchair ergometer testing is used to characterize wheelchair propulsion mechanics. The reliability of kinematic and kinetic measures has not been investigated for wheelchair ergometer testing. In this study, test-retest reliability of biomechanical measurements on a wheelchair ergometer was determined during a submaximal endurance test. Ten nondisabled subjects (seven male, three female), in...

An Australian Standard for Wheelchair Occupant Restraint Assemblies for Motor Vehicles has been produced. Titled Australian standard 2942-1987, Wheelchair Occupant Restraint Assemblies for Use in Motor Vehicles, it establishes design and performance requirements for these restraints, and includes details of dynamic testing procedures. Under the Standard, a lap belt is the basic occupant restrai...

Lightweight (K4) and ultra-lightweight (K5) wheelchairs are commonly used as mobility devices by pediatric manual wheelchair users. In this study, instrumented pushrims and wireless motion tracking were used to measure energy cost and shoulder flexion during manual wheelchair propulsion. Eight pediatric (age=1218 yrs) manual wheelchair users propelled a K4 and K5 wheelchair across a level tiled...

Little is known about how dynamic acceleration affects wheelchair-rider comfort. The current study was to test both the operation of an instrumented wheelchair by a wheelchair user over a Simulated Road Course (SRC) and the operation of the same instrumented wheelchair during normal daily activities (a field test) by test subjects. Sixteen subjects participated in the protocol. A SRC allowed co...

BACKGROUND Comparative effectiveness research on wheelchairs available in low-resource areas is needed to enable effective use of limited funds. Mobility on commonly encountered rolling environments is a key aspect of function. High variation in capacity among wheelchair users can mask changes in mobility because of wheelchair design. A repeated measures protocol in which the participants use o...

The paper deals with engineering an electric wheelchair from a common wheelchair and the development of a BCI system (Brain-Computer Interface) between the electric wheelchair and the human brain. The target populations for the mind controlled wheelchair are the patients who are paralyzed below the neck and are unable to use conventional wheelchair interfaces. A portable EEG headset, MCU and fi...

Manual wheelchair users commonly experience pain in their hands and wrists associated with the repetitive stress of propulsion. The objective of this research was to examine the effect of an ergonomic wheelchair handrim as an intervention designed to reduce pain in the hands and wrists and improve functional outcomes for manual wheelchair users. Three studies were conducted to achieve this obje...

The battery performance of electric wheelchairs was measured under indoor and outdoor conditions, and simulated driving cycles for these two environments were derived from these tests. Driving cycles were used to bench-test deep discharge wet cell and gel cell lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, and experimental nickel-zinc batteries. Results of this study support the conclusion that...

Many people in wheelchairs are unable to control a powered wheelchair with the standard joystick interface. A robotic wheelchair can provide users with driving assistance, taking over low-level navigation to allow its user to travel efficiently and with greater ease. Our robotic wheelchair system, Wheelesley, consists of a standard powered wheelchair with an on-board computer, sensors and a gra...