The Wheelchair: Making transportation of Physically Disabled Persons Easier
Friday, February 29th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The official definition of a wheelchair is a wheeled mobility device that transports the user through manual or automatic propulsion. As for its function, the wheelchair helps people that have difficulty in walking for reasons such as injury, illness or other disability, by transporting them. According to the records, the first wheelchair was used in England in the 1670s and it’s during the German Renaissance that it became known to Europeans. Different wheelchairs for Various NeedsThe basic and standard wheelchair is composed of a seat, a back, two small front wheels, two large wheels as well as a footrest. Fortunately, this basic design has many variations and they may be customized to suit individual needs and preferences. There are many accessories that one can also add to the device, such as the anti-tip bar or wheels, adjustable backrests, safety belts, and much more. In addition, the type of wheels to be used including the omniwheel and the mecanum wheel that provide directional options have also been experimented with. There are power as well as manual wheelchairs. The power version comes in three models which are center , rear as well as four wheel front driven and front driven. The manual wheelchair has three different types – attendant-propelled, self-propelled, as well as wheelbase. Another benefit of the manual version is that it can be easily stored or placed in any vehicle. Of course, each type has its own characteristics. The power driven wheelchair can also be categorized according to seat type.For disabled athletes, there are the streamlined sport wheelchairs that require having agility as well as speed such as those used for rugby, basketball, tennis and also racing. Because they require strength in frame, they may not be foldable, have to be manufactured using composite and lightweight materials and may often have pronounced angle for the wheels.Lately, there have been technological advances in the wheelchair of today. For example, gyroscopic technology enables the device to be better balanced as well as run on only two wheels depending on the surface. Furthermore, it can raise the user to a near-standing position. However, most advances tend to relate to the cushion materials that are used. The most popular are the memory foam as well as gel. Nowadays, there are also suspension-based chairs. Let’s not forget that a wheelchair needs to provide functionality in buildings comprising of many floors that require climbing up stairs. There is an increasing number of innovations being incorporated in buildings now to facilitate use of wheelchairs in all environments. It is now more and more common to construct buildings equipped with elevators. Also, low floor trams and buses are two innovations that are really appreciated to people using a wheelchair.
Technorati Tags: wheel chair, wheelchair, wheelchairs
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
