PHYSIOLOGY OF ARTHROGRYPOSIS
Powered wheelchairs come in many different styles and have a large range of capabilities and features
depending on the model. Powered wheelchairs are not propelled by the user, but rather by a motor and
battery. For most powered wheelchairs, the user drives the chair using a joystick and buttons to modify
settings (Wheelchairs: Information and Reviews). Figure 19 shows an example of a powered wheelchair.
These chairs tend to be extremely expensive and due to reliability and safety concerns, the electrical systems
cannot be modified to power auxiliary devices (Forum Data: Power Monitoring and Management).
Figure 19: Powered Wheelchair
The amount of built-in storage for other items also varies greatly from design to design, although there are
third-party accessories that add additional storage space to a wheelchair. Figure 20 shows an example of a
commercially available storage system that attach to a wheelchair.
Figure 20: Additional Wheelchar Storage
With all these unknowns about our user’s specific wheelchair configuration, obtaining exact specifications
of our user’s wheelchair is imperative. If the design to allow our user to self-dress needs to interface with her
wheelchair, it must be made to her wheelchair’s specifications or be extremely adjustable.
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