Material Matters: Substance and Design of Custom Power Wheelchairs

The materials used in complex rehab technology (CRT) are sophisticated and varied. Clinicians and ATPs recommend CRT for their clients every day, and the composition of this equipment has a direct impact on the clients’ health, functional performance, physical experience, and overall quality of life. Clinical decision making should include a more in depth understanding of the materials that make up the equipment selected. Yet, many clinicians and ATPs have had a lack of extensive training and experience with these materials due to insufficient emphasis in current trainings and courses, productivity demands of the rehab clinic, and an ever-changing industry involving improving technologies and materials.

This 60-minute live lecture will address how materials are designed, used and combined in CRT to improve the lives of clients and provide a comprehensive look at materials that are typically incorporated into power wheelchairs. Current evidence regarding ALS clinical outcomes and the implications of seating and mobility on clients with ALS will be reviewed. Materials such as plastics, rubbers, gels, steel, aluminum, and copper will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the complexities and variations that exist within these deceptively general material descriptions. By the end of the course, clinicians will have an improved ability to recognize different materials associated with individually configured power wheelchair design and be able to discuss significant advantages and disadvantages of each material.