Wheelchairs in stress: Measurement of wheelchair characteristics

An ergonomic study of manual wheelchairs is being undertaken under the sponsorship of the West German Government.

An ergonomic study of manual wheelchairs is being undertaken under the sponsorship of the West German Government. The primary consideration is the stress and strain on the user in propelling the chair. The basis of any ergonomic assessment must be the acquisition of a wide range of parameters.

The development and application of suitable methods of measurement for variables such as force, torque, distance etc. is the subject of this article. The field and laboratory tests which have been carried out on wheelchairs of the hand rim and lever propelled types and also a specially designed simulator are described. The methods employed enable comparisons to be made between the different drive systems and between the different components of those systems.