Wheelchair Design

[OneLittleSpark]

Hello everyone. I've been lurking around on this forum for a while, but this is the first time I've actually posted anything. I know this isn't Disney related, but I was wondering if anyone could help me. Just as a bit of background, I've had mobility problems for a while, and they've recently got to the point where I need to use a wheelchair for any real distance. Because I'm “in the system” I'm having to use a Red Cross rental until something more permanent is worked out.
As part of my Engineering degree, we have to do a group design module on a subject of our choosing, and a friend and I have decided to look into wheelchair design (because I know my rental definitely has room for improvement). I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on their's / a family member's w/c? Any features you like / don't like, improvements that could be made or problems you've encountered would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance everyone and sorry for rambling on like this.

 

[videogal1]

Hello everyone.
As part of my Engineering degree, we have to do a group design module on a subject of our choosing, and a friend and I have decided to look into wheelchair design (because I know my rental definitely has room for improvement). I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on their's / a family member's w/c? Any features you like / don't like, improvements that could be made or problems you've encountered would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance everyone and sorry for rambling on like this.

As MEDICARE is tightening its rules on power "wheels" it would be nice if someone would design a manual chair for stroke survivors...One-handed operation, very light weight optional easy-mount power source.....able to leap tall buildings...etc, etc...

 

[Michigan]

As MEDICARE is tightening its rules on power "wheels" it would be nice if someone would design a manual chair for stroke survivors...One-handed operation, very light weight optional easy-mount power source.....able to leap tall buildings...etc, etc...

Quickie has a one hand operation option for it's manual chairs.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Thanks Videogal1, I hadn't thought of one handed operation, I'll certaily look into it. Not sure if I can manage the leaping tall buildings bit though

 

[KPeveler]

Check out notre dame's enginerring department... Dr Skaar is working on a optical sensor-wheelchair, one that will not require any manual movement. my sister is working on his research team....

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Wow! Thanks that looks really interesting! I'll certainly look into that in more detail.

 

[SueM in MN]

My wants based on many years of experience with my DD's wheelchair would be:
1) Use a limited number of types/sizes of fasteners like bolts. Her wheelchairs have many types in many different sizes. That means if something loosens up we have a number of tools to choose from that all fit different parts of the same wheelchair/

2) Cover exposed screws and bolts so that if they hit things while the person is driving around, they don't do a lot of damage. (We have a lot of places in our house where the wood trim and/or doors in our house have been scratched by 2 screws that hold on her footplates.) Same thing for the footplates. She had some made of thin (but strong) metal. The big problem was that they were like knives if she ran into the wall.

3) Streamlined and easy to clean. After cleaning DD's wheelchair last night when she spilled an entire glass of milk on herself, I could really appreciate that.

4) Things that stay adjusted, even when the person has a lot of tone. We have to refasten several screws on DD' footplates at least once a day.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Thank you for all of those suggestions, they'll be a real help. I'm not sure if you've tried this, but I've found that when I've had a screw coming loose (no jokes please) on a number of things, putting a nylon washer in between the screw and the "thing" works wonders. It may not help you, but I just thought it was worth suggesting.

 

[cquick]

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on their's / a family member's w/c? Any features you like / don't like, improvements that could be made or problems you've encountered would be greatly appreciated.
.

Hi! Our 29 year old son has cerebral palsy with a seizure disorder and low vision. He cannot guide an electric wheelchair. Recently I have injured my knee and I am having a hard time pushing him, even though he's got a really light weight Quickie.

I think what we need is a powered wheelchair that a companian can ride on a footplate behind and steer the chair. That would be nice.

Also, Quickie needs to take into consideration the confort of the person pushing a chair....not everyone can make it go by themselves. We had stroller handles added to our newest Quicke, and on our folding Breezy chair, we had a different kind of stroller handles added that can be adjusted so the chair can still fold up for travel.

Hope your class goes well! Connie

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Thank you for that one, I will bear it in mind. A lot of designers spend all their time trying to make it comfortable for the user (not that I'm complaining about that) and forget about the 'pusher'. My DBF will sympathise with you, I'm sure

Thank you for everything so far everyone, it's all really helpful!

 

[Schmeck]

How about a chair that can adjust the user's height? When moving, the seat could be higher so that the user is more at eye level with others (instead of invisible) and then it could be adjusted down to table height for dining, etc.

I've been in a wheelchair three times, for transport out of the hospital, and I hated that 'invisibility' feeling, like I wasn't a person once I was in the chair being pushed. I can only imagine the frustration for those that have to depend on the chair for daily transportation issues. Being at eye level to others would make a difference, wouldn't it?

 

[GroovyWheeler]

For power chairs: Make it so that there would be fewer breakdowns to the power chair, and making the controller/batteries/motors longer lasting than having to replace them every year or so. I just recently went through another breakdown with my power chair, and it took the DME dealer 8-9 weeks to go through my mom's medical insurance for the approval, then having to order the part (which was a new controller), and having to survive without my power chair, was tough. Worst part was, my DME dealer couldn't give me a loaner power chair. I'm now waiting to see if the motors are going to go too, as it's about time for them to be replaced.

Samantha

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Ouch, that's rough! I'm glad it's all sorted now though, and I hope the motor doesn't cause you as much trouble.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions so far everyone, and happy New Year!

 

[jay's dad]

My wife has had MS since 1995 and has used a power wheelchair for the past 5 years. She currently has a Pride Jet 7. The one feature that I can't understand is where you have to plug it in to recharge it. The recepticle is in the back. There is no way for her to plug it in. The recharge recepticle needs to be part of the controller where it would be easily accessible.

 

[SueM in MN]

For power chairs: Make it so that there would be fewer breakdowns to the power chair, and making the controller/batteries/motors longer lasting than having to replace them every year or so. I just recently went through another breakdown with my power chair, and it took the DME dealer 8-9 weeks to go through my mom's medical insurance for the approval, then having to order the part (which was a new controller), and having to survive without my power chair, was tough. Worst part was, my DME dealer couldn't give me a loaner power chair. I'm now waiting to see if the motors are going to go too, as it's about time for them to be replaced.

Samantha

You might want to look into reliability for your company's power wheelchairs or maybe you got a lemon.
My DD's power wheelchair was bought in 1999. She has had the motors replaced a year ago, but she still has her original batteries and they still hold a good charge and there have never been any repairs to the controller. The other repairs it has had were to the footplate hangers (she's really hard on those) and the armrests. She's waiting for a new one to be approved because there are a lot of little things wrong that can't be repaired easily.

 

[SueM in MN]

How about a chair that can adjust the user's height? When moving, the seat could be higher so that the user is more at eye level with others (instead of invisible) and then it could be adjusted down to table height for dining, etc.

I've been in a wheelchair three times, for transport out of the hospital, and I hated that 'invisibility' feeling, like I wasn't a person once I was in the chair being pushed. I can only imagine the frustration for those that have to depend on the chair for daily transportation issues. Being at eye level to others would make a difference, wouldn't it?

They have power wheelchairs that can be raised, but because it is an additional expense, it may be hard to rationalize enough/provide enough evidence that the user absolutely needs it to get it covered.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I'm guessing a number of you may have already seen these, but there are a number of "standing" power chairs on the market already (for an example, see: http://www.planetmobility.com/store/wheelchairs/standing-chairs/index.html ). I was just wondering, does anyone know if these can be moved while you're "standing" or do you have to "sit down" to move (due to centre of gravity / stability issues)?

 

[LindaDVC]

1)my biggest pet peeve has been mentioned -- where it plugs in
a pain for me-- and impossible for the w/c user -- totally inaccessible

2)I would also like to recommend some universal design--
Some chairs are difficult to get kids ( or adults) out of and hard to turn on/off etc.
I see this as a safety issue and could loose valuable time in an emergency trying to figure this particular chair out --while you need the person out of the chair NOW medically.

3)Some of the newer chairs are difficult to assist up a single step or curb
wheras I used to be able to do that with the older design pretty easily when we found an inaccessible spot ( we actually had one step in our apartment for years that we dealt with back in the 80's).

Linda (pediatric OT and wife of D. quadraplegic/bil. amputee)

 

[LindaDVC]

I just asked dh if he had any additional issues
and thought of tiedowns.

His chair is a permobile and has really nice areas to tie down his chair quickly and efficiently -- the disney drivers love them!
However this is not the case with all chairs!

Linda

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Thank you so much everyone, all these points are going to be really helpful to us!