The Wheelchair Propulsion Wheel Rotation Angle Function Symmetry in the Propelling Phase: Motion Capture Research and a Mathematical Model

Abstract

The movement of a wheelchair with manual propulsion depends on the kinematics of the human body and the forces exerted by the muscles. To design innovative wheelchair propulsion systems, the biomechanical parameters resulting from human interaction in this anthropotechnical system must be formalised. The research objectives were thus adopted: an analysis of the propulsion wheel angle of rotation resulting from the hand movement’s trajectory and the mathematical formalisation of the propulsion wheel angle of rotation described as a function of the propelling phase’s duration. The research was carried out using three variants of manually propelled wheelchairs on a group of 10 patients representing the same group (C50) of anthropometric dimensions. The research demonstrated that the function of the propulsion wheel angle of rotation shows the features of central symmetry occurring at an angle of rotation of φ 52° and a propelling phase duration of 58%. Moreover, the measurements were averaged and a mathematical model of the propulsion wheel rotation function during the propulsion phase was developed, depending on the percentage of duration.

Investigating the Impact of Carbon Fiber as a Wheelchair Frame Material on Its Ability to Dissipate Kinetic Energy and Reduce Vibrations

“…A person using a wheelchair forms an anthropotechnical system that can be modeled with many related biomechanical and mechanical parameters and causal effects [1][2][3]. One such parameter relation is the movement of the human body combined with the movement of a wheelchair [4,5]. This connection results from the cyclical propelling of the wheelchair using the upper limbs and the transfer of mechanical energy to the human body through the body support system of the moving wheelchair [6].…”