Development of a Collapsible Folding Manual Wheelchair Phase II

Principal Investigators: Chris Willems, ME; Rory Cooper, PhD

Co-Investigators: Donald Spaeth, PhD, RET; Joseph Olson, BS

2003-2005

Objectives
The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the Endeavor, a compact, forward-folding, ultralight manual wheelchair that incorporates small “swing-down” wheels for navigation in confined areas. These also enable airplane aisle navigation and stowage. The Endeavor is hypothesized to receive a favorable overall user rating and receive “ease of task” ratings superior to the ratings that subject’s give their own personal wheelchair for the airplane and car transfer, and wheelchair adjustments, stowage, accessibility and maneuverability.

Research Design

In this phase, we will use a cross-over design in which subjects serve as their own controls. The order in which the wheelchairs will be tested (personal wheelchair versus the Endeavor) will be randomized for each subject.

Methodology
There are two stages to this research project: an Activities of Daily Living Course and an In-Home trial. The activities of daily living course is located at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories and simulates daily barriers encountered by wheelchair users. Subjects will be asked to complete the course in their personal wheelchair and in the Endeavor three times each. Testing will be completed in less than 2 ½ hours in a one-day visit.
For the in-home trial, subjects will be asked to use the Endeavor as their primary means of mobility for two weeks, which will be compared to using their own wheelchair for two weeks.
During this four-week period a datalogger will be mounted to the subject’s wheelchair(s), which will give information about distance traveled, average speed, and time used. Subjects will also keep a daily written log of the activities they performed while in the chair. At the end of the Endeavor trial-use period, subjects will complete a questionnaire. There is a 10-week follow-up period where subjects will be allowed to keep the Endeavor during which we will conduct three phone interviews on usage of the Endeavor.

Results
Subject enrollment and data collection has been completed. A total of 14 subjects have been enrolled. Participants with differing levels of spinal cord injury took part in in-lab clinical testing comparing the Endeavor forward folding wheelchair with their personal wheelchair. They performed three different activities: an indoor obstacle course, a car transfer and an airline boarding simulation. For these activities, there was no statistical difference between the ratings for the Endeavor and the participant’s chair. In a questionnaire focusing on the attributes of the Endeavor, a majority of participants rated the Endeavor positively for all but one of the collected dimensions. The lack of significant results may be positive. It shows that with this sample participants rate the Endeavor, an unfamiliar chair similarly to one which they are intimately familiar with.
Nine participants finished the study and five decided to keep the chair in lieu of payment. The most consistent positive aspect of the chair was its ability to fit in narrow spaces. Weight and inability to adequately match the participant’s current wheelchair set up were the most common areas needing improvement.