An approach to the design of wheelchairs for young users

Sixty six physically handicapped children between the ages of 5 and 16 took part in an anthropometric study of young wheelchair users. All those involved had at one time used a wheelchair regularly, and only 9 in the study habitually walked. Using a standard body measuring instrument, 13 measurements of bodily dimensions were taken with the children sitting in their usual chairs. An assessment was also made of the degree of support afforded by the backrest. Five dimensions normally used in prescribing wheelchairs to patients were used as a basis for working out the sizes of the various sections of a wheelchair, such as seat, backrest, armrest and frame size. The raw data indicated that appreciable inconsistencies in body shape existed which were not allowed for in present wheelchair design. A new approach is proposed in which wheelchairs would be assembled from interlocking sections of variable size . This arrangement would allow wheelchairs to be fitted more completely to the individual.