Characterization of Electric Powered Wheelchair Use in the Community
By Thorman, Tricia; Cooper, Rory A.; Cooper, Rosemary; Dvorznak, Michael J.; Fitzgerald, Shirley G.; Ammer, William; Song-Feng, Guo; Boninger, Michael L.; RESNA 2001: Annual Conference Proceedings, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 349-351Publication Date: June 2001
Paper discussing a study to determine the driving characteristics of people who use electric powered wheelchairs. A lab-designed datalogger was used to collect information on: the distance travelled per day; average speed while driving; distribution of driving over the day; and distance traveled between battery charges. Data was collected from participants in the 20th National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) and a group of electric powered wheelchair users in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Results indicated that drivers of electric powered wheelchairs are most active during the afternoon and evening hours. The participants in the NVWG were more active relative to the group from Pittsburgh during a typical week at home, but there was little variation in speed or distance travelled per day. The maximum theoretical distance that a wheelchair user in either group would travel was less than eight kilometers per day.
Published by: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Website:http://www.resna.org)
ISBN: 0-932101-43-7
