Manual wheelchair propulsion cost across different components and configurations during straight and turning maneuvers.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Maneuvering manual wheelchairs is defined by changes in momentum. The amount of effort required to maneuver a wheelchair is dependent on many factors, some of which reflect the design and configuration of the wheelchair.

Objective

The objective of this study was to measure the work required to propel a manual wheelchair configured with three weight distributions, three drive wheels and four casters.

Methods

A novel wheelchair-propelling robot was used as the test platform to measure work while traversing two surfaces using three different maneuvers which were defined to highlight different kinetic energies and energy loss mechanisms.

Results

Overall, propulsion cost decreased with an increase in load on the drive wheels. Pneumatic drive wheels exhibited low

SUBMITTER: Sprigle S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7144678 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature