The African Disability Scooter: Preliminary Analysis of a New Mobility Aid
By McCahill, Jennifer; Stebbins, Julie; Bates, Joanne; Batchelor, Andrew; Church, John; Lavy, Chris; Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 353-356Publication Date: September 2009
Article describes the development and testing of a low-cost portable scooter for use as an alternative to crutches for lower limb amputees in resource-poor African countries. The two-wheeled African Disability Scooter (ADS) was designed to be robust in uneven terrain, lightweight, portable, manufactured at low cost with materials local to the region, and able to be mass produced. A trial was conducted comparing the energy expenditure of the ADS to walking with crutches the length of a 130 meter level track at self selected speed, using 5 male and 5 female non-disabled participants ranging in age between 20 and 30 years. A portable energy consumption measuring device, the COSMED K4b, was fitted to each participant to measure energy expenditure, and the comfort, ease of use, and feeling of stability of the scooter were assessed with visual analogue scales. It was found that the ADS was twice as efficient and twice as fast as crutches over level ground. The scooter was also rated highly on comfort and usability scores. Based on these results, the authors contend the ADS is a potentially useful method of transport by people with amputations or a wide spectrum of unilateral lower limb disabilities in developed and developing countries.
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Limited (Website:http://taylorandfrancis.org)
International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.isprm.org )
