Zeroing of six-component handrim dynamometer for biomechanical studies of manual wheelchair locomotion.

A six-component handrim dynamometer (HRD) is a dynamometer that rotates around the wheel axle during measurements. For this kind of dynamometer, static zero level calibration is insufficient because the proportion of the forces (i.e. handrim weight and centrifugal force) measured by each sensor varies according to the angular position and velocity of the dynamometer. The dynamic calibration presented in this paper is based on the direct correction of the sensor signals using Fourier's polynomials that take into account the influences of both the handrim weight distribution on the sensors with respect to the wheel's angular position and the effect of the wheel's angular velocity. When these corrections were applied to the signals produced by the sensors while the HRD was rotating and no effort was being exerted on the handrim, the calculated forces and torques remained close to zero, as expected. Based on these results, the wheel dynamometer can be confidently used for studying manual wheelchair locomotion under various real conditions. The method could also be applied in other situations in which a dynamometer rotates during measurements.

Effects of user's actions on rolling resistance and wheelchair stability during handrim wheelchair propulsion in the field.

Currently, rolling resistance and wheelchair stability during manual wheelchair propulsion can be assessed from the loads applied on the front and rear wheels, which are determined in a static condition. However, a user's actions on the wheelchair would change these loads during locomotion, which should affect both the rolling resistance and wheelchair stability. The goal of this study was to verify these assumptions and assess how much the rolling resistance and wheelchair stability are affected by the user's actions during propulsion. For that purpose, a mechanical model was developed using measurements of an instrumented wheelchair equipped with several six-component dynamometers. Experiments were performed by three subjects propelling the instrumented wheelchair over flat ground. The results showed variations over wide ranges of the fore-aft distribution of the total load, rolling resistance, wheelchair stability, wheelchair velocity and mechanical power dissipated by the rolling resistance during the propulsion cycle. In addition, the time courses of all these variables differed with the subject. Finally, this study demonstrated the possibility of assessing intra-cycle values of both rolling resistance and wheelchair stability during manual wheelchair displacements in the field, which provides a technical step towards evaluating a wheelchair user in his daily environment.

Assessment of field rolling resistance of manual wheelchairs.

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.