Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the operability for a competition wheelchair by estimating biomechanical parameters during the forward linear operation of a wheelchair using an inverse dynamics analysis. During operation of the wheelchair, the vector of ideal hand force in the posture of the arm was calculated using the reaction force between the hand and the wheel. Hand manipulability was defined as the angles between its vector and the vector of hand force estimated from the simulation. The effects of the design parameters for the wheelchair on manipulability were investigated by conducting simulations with changes in axle positions. As a result, it may be effective to set the axle to higher positions to increase the energy efficiency of the upper limbs during operation of the wheelchair. This indicates that adjustment of the axle position leads to improvement of operability of the wheelchair.

Highlights

  • The structure of competition wheelchairs for ball games, such as tennis, basketball, and rugby, is different from standard wheelchairs due to their use for wheelchair competition

  • In order to investigate the evaluation of operability for a competition wheelchair using manipulability, the manipulating force ellipsoid and the hand force were estimated during the wheelchair operation using musculoskeletal simulation

  • Hand manipulability was defined as the angles between its vector and the vector of hand force estimated from the simulation

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Summary

Introduction

The structure of competition wheelchairs for ball games, such as tennis, basketball, and rugby, is different from standard wheelchairs due to their use for wheelchair competition. Competition wheelchairs are required to have various functions, such as quick turn, sudden start, sudden braking, and high-speed driving In wheelchair competitions, such as wheelchair rugby (WR), the wheelchair is required to have operability to avoid collision as well as durability for impacts. A study which examined athletes’ muscle strength and shoulder pain revealed that the relationship between muscle weakness and shoulder pain was due to atrophy of the muscles around the shoulder blades [2]. In these studies, one of the proposed causes was that suitable wheelchairs for the athletes’ physical characteristics may not have been used

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