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The segway personal transporter as an alternative mobility device for people with disabilities: a pilot study
Bonita Sawatzky1, Ian Denison, Shauna Langrish
1Department of Orthopaedics, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Objectives:
To determine the functional measures that best correlate with the skill levels of people with disabilities who operate a Segway Personal Transporter, and-using a qualitative analysis-to explore subjects' experience with the Segway.
Design:
A prospective study encompassing 3 training sessions with the Segway to correlate subjects' functional ability (eg, cognition, balance, mobility, muscle strength) with their skill level on the device.
Setting:
A provincial adult rehabilitation center.
Participants:
Twenty-three subjects (age range, 19-65y) with a wide range of disabilities (eg, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, amputation) who could walk at least 6m with or without assistance.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Segway Task Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, and Timed Up & Go test.
Results:
No correlation was found because all participants successfully completed the final Segway Task Assessment, regardless of scores on functional assessments.
Conclusions:
The Segway is a useful device for a broad range of populations with functional disabilities. Subjects found the Segway easy to use and were excited about its potential as an assistive device for use in their communities.
