An Ergonomic One-handed Wheelchair

Abstract

Some people with hemiplegia (paralysis down one side of the body) are unable to walk, so they need a wheelchair. But the standard manual wheelchair is designed forp eople with two active hands. If operated with only one hand, the chair tends to veer towards the patient’s inactive side with each push of the handrim. Some hospitals teach a technique for coping, in which patients correct their direction of travel by continually ’walking’ their active foot on the ground while applying a corrective sideways push. It works, but is slow and undignified, (Kirby et al., 1999). There are also problems with turning (Kitano et al., 1997).