Sensewheel: an adjunct to wheelchair skills training

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of real time verbal feedback to optimise push arc during over ground manual wheelchair propulsion. 10 healthy non wheelchair users pushed a manual wheelchair for a distance of 25 metres on level paving, initially with no feedback and then with real time verbal feedback aimed at controlling push arc within a range of 85˚-100˚. The real time feedback was provided by a physiotherapist walking behind the wheelchair, viewing real time data on a tablet personal computer received from the Sensewheel, a lightweight instrumented wheelchair wheel. The real time verbal feedback enabled the participants to significantly increase their push arc. This increase in push arc resulted in a non-significant reduction in push rate and a significant increase in peak force application. The intervention enabled participants to complete the task at a higher mean velocity using significantly fewer pushes. This was achieved via a significant increase in the power generated during the push phase. This study identifies that a lightweight instrumented wheelchair wheel such as the Sensewheel is a useful adjunct to wheelchair skills training. Targeting the optimisation of push arc resulted in beneficial changes in propulsion technique.