Quantifying the effects of on-the-fly changes of seating configuration on the stability of a manual wheelchair

Borisoff, Jaimie (Jaimie Borisoff (Jaimie_Borisoff)) (author)
Thomas, Louise (author)
Sparrey, Carolyn, J. (author)
(editor)
(translator)

©2017 IEEE

Proceedings of the 39th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), in Seogwipo, South Korea, 11-15 July 2017. In general, manual wheelchairs are designed with a fixed frame, which is not optimal for every situation. Adjustable on the fly seating allow users to rapidly adapt their wheelchair configuration to suit different tasks. These changes move the center of gravity (CoG) of the system, altering the wheelchair stability and maneuverability. To assess these changes, a computer simulation of a manual wheelchair was created with adjustable seat, backrest, rear axle position and user position, and validated with experimental testing. The stability of the wheelchair was most affected by the position of the rear axle, but adjustments to the backrest and seat angles also result in stability improvements that could be used when wheeling in the community. These findings describe the most influential parameters for wheelchair stability and maneuverability, as well as provide quantitative guidelines for the use of manual wheelchairs with on the fly adjustable seats.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8037218/