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Comparison of fatigue life for 3 types of manual wheelchairs
S G Fitzgerald1, R A Cooper, M L Boninger
1Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. sgf9@pitt.edu
Objectives:
To examine 3 types of manual wheelchairs-ultralight wheelchairs (UWs), lightweight wheelchairs (LWs), and depot wheelchairs (DWs)-and to compare the fatigue life between the wheelchair types.
Design:
A database of different manual wheelchairs tested according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Fatigue life was determined by using standards that define methods accepted internationally using double-drum and curb-drop testing equipment.
Setting:
A rehabilitation engineering center.
Specimens:
Sixty-one manual wheelchairs: 25 DWs, 22 UWs, and 14 LWs.
Main Outcome Measures:
Wheelchairs were examined for differences in fatigue life based on equivalent cycles. Unique survival curves were fit and compared for each wheelchair type.
Results:
The UWs lasted the longest, with a mean of 309,362 equivalent cycles. The DWs faired the worst, with a mean of 117,210 equivalent cycles. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were significantly different (p < .001), with the UWs having the longest fatigue life.
Conclusion:
Fatigue life for UWs is significantly greater (p < .05) than LWs and DWs, indicating wheelchairs differ in durability.