Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

4.1.2 Surface Design of Examination Tables and Chairs

For several reasons including patient comfort and safety, the surfaces of many examination tables and chairs are not flat. Instead, they are contoured, such as by using bolsters along the perimeters, to provide greater security once patients are lying or seated on the table or chair. This contouring complicates efforts to measure the distance between the floor and the height of the surface onto which patients transfer for their examinations. Thus, contouring must be addressed in considering minimum height standards for accessibility of transfer surfaces (Section 5.1.4).

As noted in Section 2.4.1, the height measurement method recommended by the Advisory Committee (Section 5.1.4) differs from the heights that manufacturers publish today. Currently, the de facto industry practice is to publish table or chair heights as measured while patients are seated on the equipment (i.e., while patients’ weights are compressing the table’s or chair’s foam padding).^Z This dimension is typically measured at the back of a patient’s knees and includes compression of the seat foam. This method is consistent with the internationally recognized standard for the measurement of wheelchairs, ISO 7176-7:1998.

In contrast, the Advisory Committee recommends that measurement be taken from the highest point of the transfer surface, irrespective of contours, and with uncompressed foam (Section 5.1.4). Committee members recommend this measurement method because it ensures that the entire transfer surface is below the recommended height. This allows patients to choose the transfer location and technique that best meets their individual needs. For consistency, all transfer surface height measurements referenced in this report use the measurement method specified in Section 5.1.4, unless otherwise noted.

Notes

^Z Seated height became the de facto height measurement method because this height is most relevant to clinicians as they conduct physical examinations of patients.  Consequentially, health care professionals who are purchasing examination tables and chairs typically focus on the seated height dimension.