Effects of center of mass positioning of the user-chair system on mobility in manual wheelchairs

• Grant number: 17/14177-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2018
• End date: May 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Industrial Design - Product Design
• Principal Investigator: Fausto Orsi Medola
• Grantee: Vitor Alcoléa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes e Comunicação (FAAC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to evaluate the mechanical aspects of design of manual wheelchair and its influence on the mobility of the user through the kinetic and dynamic analysis of wheelchair movement. Specifically, it will be investigated the influence of the center-of-mass positioning of the user-chair system on the resulting forces and movement on the rear wheels, through the use of a sensing system coupled to the rear wheel hub, Smart Wheel (Three Rivers Holdings, Mesa , AZ, United States). This proposal is justified by the need to verify how changes in the design and configuration of the wheelchair influence the mobility of the user, as well as by the lack of efficient and accessible methods to adjust the wheelchair to the user. Thus, the aim is to develop a faster and cheaper way to determine the anterior-posterior positioning of the center of mass of the chair-user system and to allow a better adjustment of this variable and, from this information, correlate with the kinetic aspects of chair and biomechanical movements of user during movements characteristic of the daily mobility of wheelchair users. The specific objectives are: 1) to help understand the mechanical principles - static and dynamic - that influence the use of a wheelchair; 2) identify wheelchair design and configuration that favor user mobility by reducing the demand for biomechanical work and improving the efficiency of movement. This information has the potential to contribute not only to wheelchair design, but also to the prescription, selection and suitability of these devices to the user. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VITOR ALCOLEA; GUILHERME DA SILVA BERTOLACCINI; RUBENS VENDITTI JUNIOR; FAUSTO ORSI MEDOLA. Propulsion efficiency in wheelchair tennis: a case study on the influence of the racket on the handrim forces. Motriz: rev. educ. fis., v. 26, n. 1, 2020-04-22. (16/05026-6, 17/14177-0)