Wheeled Mobility in Everyday Life

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Wheeled Mobility in Everyday Life
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Advisors

• Steve Bauer, PhD, Departments of Rehabilitation
  Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering
  at SUNY-Buffalo.
• Evan Call, MS, is Lab Director of EC Service,
  Inc. an Adjunct Professor at Weber State
  University.
• Barb Crane, PhD, PT, ATP, is an Assistant
  Professor of PT at the Univ. of Hartford.
• Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, is a Research Scientist
  at Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research
  Education
• David Ellis, PhD, is President and Managing
  Partner of EGL Holdings, Inc., a venture capital
  group in Atlanta
• Marie Latta, Accessibility Consultant in Atlanta
• Charles Levy, MD, Chief PMR, N FL VAMC
• James Rimmer, PhD, is a Professor at the
  University of Illinois Department of Disability
  Human Development and Director of the National
  Center on Physical Activity and Disability and
  RecTech RERC.

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Projects

• RESEARCH
• Pressure Ulcer Prevention Susceptibility and
  Pressure Relief Effectiveness
• Effect of Mobility Device and Environmental
  Facilitators on Activity and Participation
• Improved training to improve function
• Improved Wheelchair Prescription
• DEVELOPMENT
• Development of Standards and Test Methods
• Inventor-Driven Product Development
• Orphan technology development
• TRAINING
• Evidence-based Online Wheelchair Seating Course
• Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training
• Creating Rehab Engineering AT Experiences
  (cRE/ATe)
• State of the Science Conference 

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Pressure Ulcer Prevention Susceptibility and
Pressure Relief Effectiveness

• Development of an Individualized Pressure Ulcer
  Susceptibility Model
• Pressure Relief Techniques and Behaviors

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Pressure Relief Techniques Behaviors

• PR Technique Experiment
• Do different pressure relief techniques result in
  different levels of blood flow within and across
  subjects?
• Does partial unloading results in increased blood
  flow compared to stationary, upright sitting?
• PR Behaviors
• Do persons with a history of recurrent PU have
  different pressure relief behaviors than persons
  with no history of PU?

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Blood flow during PR maneuvers
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Improved Training to Improve Function

• Effectiveness of Augmented Immediate Video
  Feedback on Advanced Wheelchair Skill Training
• Wheelchair Tai Chi Program for Individuals with
  Disability
• 10 movements or forms designed for wheelchair
  users
• RCT design using 2 cohorts
• Elders
• Persons with SCI

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Development of Standards and Test Methods

• Wheelchair Cushion Standards
• Device to measure mechanical work and efficiency
  of manual wheelchairs

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Device to measure mechanical work efficiency of
manual wheelchairs

• Design Problem
• Measure work and efficiency that reflect both
  internal and external factors
• External factors i.e., rolling resistance
• Internal factors losses from frame/seat
  deformation interaction of occupant with
  seat/back
• Characterize the work and efficiency of
  dominating real world maneuvers characterized by
  inertial changes (starts, stops, turns)

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KE of a moving wheelchair
1. the KE of linear travel 2. the KE of
whole-system yaw, 34, the KE of rotation of the
drive wheels 56. the KE of rotation of the
casters neglected terms incl caster yaw the KE
of whole-system pitch and roll,
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Creating Rehab Engineering and AT Experiences
(cRE/ATe)

• Capacity-building
• Allowing engineers to gain a fuller understanding
  of disability and function
• One challenge
• Insure we do not leave our clients hanging
• Dissemination
• Instructables website
• Youtube

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cRE/AteSpring 2009 projects
Independent operation of center-mounted footrest
wiiMote adaptation
Bottle feeding of low tone infant
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