Article

This article proposes a simple and convenient method for assessing the
subject-specific rolling resistance acting on a manual wheelchair, which could be
used during the provision of clinical service. This method, based on a simple
mathematical equation, is sensitive to both the total mass and its fore-aft
distribution, which changes with the subject, wheelchair properties, and
adjustments. The rolling resistance properties of three types of front casters
and four types of rear wheels were determined for two indoor surfaces commonly
encountered by wheelchair users (a hard smooth surface and carpet) from
measurements of a three-dimensional accelerometer during field deceleration tests
performed with artificial load. The average results provided by these experiments
were then used as input data to assess the rolling resistance from the
mathematical equation with an acceptable accuracy on hard smooth and carpet
surfaces (standard errors of the estimates were 4.4 and 3.9 N, respectively).
Thus, this method can be confidently used by clinicians to help users make
trade-offs between front and rear wheel types and sizes when choosing and
adjusting their manual wheelchair.

Langue : ANGLAIS