Title:Development of a manual attendant-controlled wheelchair for severely disabled people, Standardization of a modular seating system
Author:S. NISHIMURA, T. SASAKI (Hokkaido Rehabilitation Counseling Center for the Handicapped) K.YAMAKOSHI (Faculty of Engineering, Kanazawa Univ.) K.YOKOGUSHI,H.NARITA,E.UTIYAMA (Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sapporo Medical Univ.)
Proceedings of 12th Japanese Conference of Advancement of Rehabilitation Technology. Vol.12, pp.13-18(August,1997)
Keywords:
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
S. NISHIMURA (Hokkaido Rehabilitation Counseling Center for The Handicapped)
TEL:011-613-5412


Abstract:
This paper describes a new type of manual attendant-controlled wheelchair for people with severe disability. The new wheelchair was developed after identifying problems of current wheelchairs with seating systems. Its targets were as follows; 1.Get lighter weight. 2.Get smaller size. 3.Get easier prescription and treatment. 4.Standardize its parts. (Shorten the term to provide and repair it.) 5.Improve quality. 6.Stable providing. 7.Reduce loads of care giving. The characteristics of this wheelchair were modular seating systems, folding mechanism and raising and lowering the seat. The modular seating systems can be built within 1 month. It was much shorter than 3 to 5 month taken for former chairs. Rising the seat enforced the flexion angle of care givers' knees 29 degrees smaller and of their hips 40 degrees smaller than those using former chairs. It indicated the loads of care givers were decreased.