Abstract
An ultralight manual wheelchair that allows users to independently adjust rear seat height and backrest angle during normal everyday usage was recently commercialized. Prior research has been performed on wheelchair tilt, recline, and seat elevation use in the community, however no such research has been done on this new class of manual ultralight wheelchair with “on the fly” adjustments. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate and characterize the use of the two adjustable seating functions available on the Elevation™ ultralight dynamic wheelchair during its use in the community. Eight participants had data loggers installed onto their own wheelchair for seven days to measure rear seat height, backrest angle position, occupied sitting time, and distance traveled. Analysis of rear seat height and backrest adjustment data revealed considerable variability in the frequency of use and positions used by participants. There was a wide spread of mean daily rear seat heights among participants, from 34.1 cm to 46.7 cm. Two sub-groups of users were further identified: those who sat habitually at a single typical rear seat height, and those who varied their rear seat height more continuously. Findings also showed that participants used the rear seat height adjustment feature significantly more often than the backrest adjustment feature. This obvious contrast in feature use may indicate that new users of this class of wheelchair may benefit from specific training. While the small sample size and exploratory nature of this study limit the generalizability of our results, our findings offer a first look at how active wheelchairs users are using a new class of ultralight wheelchair with “on the fly” seating adjustments in their communities. Further studies are recommended to better understand the impact of dynamic seating and positioning on activity, participation and quality of life.
Highlights
The wheelchair is a widely used assistive technology for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) or other mobility impairments
Many people feel that their wheelchair poses a greater barrier to participation than their actual mobility impairment, especially if the equipment is poorly matched to their specific activity needs, abilities, and environments of use [2]
Analysis of rear seat height and backrest adjustment data revealed considerable variability in the positions used by participants
Summary
The wheelchair is a widely used assistive technology for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) or other mobility impairments. Many people feel that their wheelchair poses a greater barrier to participation than their actual mobility impairment, especially if the equipment is poorly matched to their specific activity needs, abilities, and environments of use [2]. Ultralight rigid wheelchairs, or ultralight folding wheelchairs with similar performance specifications, have become a standard provision for people with disabilities who need manual wheelchairs and are active members of the community. It was found that more than 95% of active veterans who use manual wheelchairs use ultralight wheelchairs [7]. Especially as they pertain to preservation of upper limb function with chronic wheelchair use, recommend ultralight wheelchairs for active people with disabilities who use manual wheelchairs [8]. People with SCI who used ultralight wheelchairs wheeled significantly more minutes per day compared with those who used lower cost lightweight wheelchairs [1]
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