Development of a novel multi axes–driven reconfigurable wheelchair (MA-DRW) for older adults and individuals with mobility impairments

Added to the fact that the population of older adults worldwide is increasing, it has been reported that almost one billion people around the world are either handicapped or experience some form of disability, corresponding to approximately 15% of the world’s population [1]. Up to 190 million people aged 15 years and older, nearly one-fifth of the estimated worldwide total, experience critical disabilities and major difficulties in functioning that often requires health care services. This has encouraged the scientific community to come up with solutions for the sake of providing an independent life for this percentage of the population. Designed to provide mobility for people with disabilities, wheelchairs are considered as an enormous resource that holds the potential to evolve in order to overcome mobility impairments. It has been reported that around 131.8 million individuals require wheelchairs. While manual wheelchairs are considered to be crucial supportive devices for individuals with mobility impairments, propelling a wheelchair has been revealed to be mechanically inefficient [2]. Chronic shoulder impingement is considered as a common issue for manual wheelchair users due to the loading associated with executing manual wheelchair activities of daily living [3]. This has encouraged the development of electric and reconfigurable wheelchairs worldwide [4-11].

Despite the fact that there are various new configurations of wheelchairs, their workspace is still restricted. The project’s main objective is to extend and increase both flexibility and workspace of wheelchairs by developing a novel multi axes–driven reconfigurable wheelchair (MA-DRW) that provides wheelchair users an unprecedented level of personal mobility compared to existing developed wheelchairs. In addition to the typical motion of the entire wheelchair, the proposed design will allow the seat itself to move in two-mutual perpendicular directions, horizontal and vertical, and to rotate around an axis perpendicular to the plane of motion (Fig. 1). It is believed that these features are not available on existing wheelchairs, and this has a negative impact on wheelchair users’ living independence, which can lead to physical and cognitive degradation.