Your Wheelchair and Mobility Scooter Resource
November 10th, 2008
The first electric wheelchair was developed in the early 1950′s. These early power chairs took an existing wheelchair, usually the E & J manual wheelchair, and outfitted them with an electric motor. These chairs quickly became popular and today millions of people benefit from electric power wheelchairs.
While today, electric wheelchairs are much more advanced than the first electric power chairs, they do share one similarity. The joystick control system was first developed in the fifties and is still one of the most popular means of controlling an electric wheelchair today. The joystick can be mounted on either side of the chair and usually only requires a little bit of pressure for the occupant.
There are many people, however, who can not use this type of control system, so there are also several types of alternate control methods that can be used with an electric wheelchair that do not require the use of the occupants hands.
An electric wheelchair and a manual wheelchair share many similarities in regards to the services they provide, but they are also very different. Since power chairs are electric powered, it is necessary to charge them after each use. The range that a power chair can travel per charge depends largely on the model, but the places that you choose to use it can also effect the range. For example, driving the power chair up a very steep hill will cause the chair to loose its charge quicker. Most can travel a minimum of ten miles on a single charge.
An electric wheelchair will typically have a minimum of 4 wheels, but some have six. In these cases, the extra wheels are more for support. The way the wheelchair is propelled will help determine how many wheels it has. A traditional electric wheelchair usually only has four wheels and the rear wheels are what actually move the chair. These are called rear wheel drive power chairs.
A, relatively, new type of wheelchair has become very popular over the last ten years. These chairs use a mid-wheel drive system, a set of stability wheels located in front and in the back of the chair. The mid-wheel drive wheelchair is incredibly maneuverable and this makes it great for indoor usage.
Electric wheelchairs are incredibly popular today and many people would not be able to get around with them.
November 10th, 2008
Traditional rugby is often considered to be pretty rough, but it doesn’t really hold a candle to wheelchair rugby, which is, with good reason, often referred to as Murderball. This sport first became popular in Canada during the later part of the nineteen-seventies and today is played worldwide.
Wheelchair rugby is also sometimes called quad rugby, because one of the requirements is that all of the players must be quadriplegic. This means they must have a disability that affects each of their four extremities. It is played by both men and women a hardwood court the size of a regulation basketball court. Not only is physical contact allowed between players, it is an important part of the game.
The rules of this sport are based in part off of wheelchair basketball and ice hockey. The court is designed very similar to that of a soccer field. There is a center line and circle and at either end of the court there is a key. In order to score, a player must bring the ball through the key and across the goal line. Up to three defensive players are allowed in the key at any time and offensive players can only remain in the opposite teams key for up to ten seconds.
Up to eight players can be on the court at any time, with four on each team. When a player gains possession of the ball, they must pass it or dribble it within ten seconds. Other players are allowed to make physical contact with each others wheelchairs and it can get pretty aggressive, but unsafe contact, such as hitting a player from behind, is not allowed. Players are also not allowed to make physical contact with each others bodies.
While it is pretty rough, players can still receive infractions for fouls. Generally players who commit a foul, like striking an opponent from behind or illegally using their hands, is given a one minute penalty or have to give up possession of the ball. Occasionally the opposing team will be awarded a point in place of a penalty.
Much like wheelchair basketball, players of wheelchair rugby are classified based off of the level of their disability. They are ranked from .5 to 3.5 and at no point can the total number of points of active players on the court exceed eight.
Since wheelchair rugby can get very rough, it is necessary for players to use a specially reinforced wheelchair. A lot of players choose to have their chair custom made, but there are a list of specifications they must meet. They must have a front bumper, to improve striking, but also to protect the player. The bumper must extend out in front of the wheels. This extension is called a wing and makes it more difficult for the wheelchair to be stopped.
Wheelchair rugby is very popular today and after the most recent Paralympics, it has become even more so. Currently more than twenty countries actively participate in wheelchair rugby on a professional level.
November 10th, 2008
With the development of the first electric wheelchair in the middle of the twentieth century, many peoples lives were greatly improved. The manual wheelchair had been popular for some time, but a number of people, many disabled veterans, did not have the physical capacity to use a manual wheelchair. This meant that they were highly reliant on nurses, caretakers, and family members for pretty much every aspect of their life, however this all changed with the advent of the electrical wheelchair.
The earliest electric wheelchairs used a joystick control that was attached to the arm of the chair. However, scientists quickly realized that there were still many people who would not be able to use this type of chair, so other methods of control quickly developed. Today, the joystick is still predominantly used, but there are also several other options that allow someone without movement of their hands to use their chair. Two professors at MIT have recently announced the development of another control system, which when fully developed should revolutionize the way electric wheelchairs are controlled.
Computer programmers have been trying to develop adequate working voice recognition software for many years, but it has traditionally been very hard to train and very unreliable. However, within the past few years the technology behind voice recognition has greatly improved and today there are several popular software programs available that allow computers to be controlled by a persons voice.
Two professors from MIT, Seth Teller and Nicholas Roy, have set out to apply voice recognition software to the mobility industry and thus far the results look very promising. The system works by first training the wheelchair, then simply issuing it simple voice commands. For example, the chairs occupant will drive the chair to their bedroom and when they are in the bedroom they will say “This is my Bed Room.†The next time they want to goto the bedroom, they can simply issue the chair a voice command and it will know what to do.
This is not the first time that a system like this has been used, but earlier methods had relied extensively upon detailed blueprints and maps. This system differs, because it uses a series of wireless access points, which are positioned around the building or area where the chair will be used. This makes it much more versatile, because it can be easily used in almost any environment.
The system has been extensively tested on MIT’s campus and recently testing has begun at a local nursing home. More than 100 residents of the nursing home are now helping iron out the bugs of these devices, which will benefit not only those in the wheelchairs, but also their caretakers.
Nokia and Microsoft are both helping to fund the development of this project. For more information, check out MIT’s news release