Standards and Anthropometry for Wheeled Mobility

DETR

The DETR study (Stait et al., 2000) was limited to measurement of device size and weight. Participants were recruited at a “Mobility Roadshow,” an exposition of equipment for people who use wheeled mobility devices for traveling around the community. Of the 745 participants whose data was acceptable, 59% of the sample used self-propelled manual chairs, 9% used attendant powered chairs, 25% used power chairs and 9% used scooters. Nine percent of the sample were judged to be 16 years of age or younger.

The method of data collection was designed to be completed in a very short participation time. A low profile stand was constructed with a weight pad underneath and two cameras mounted above and to the side. Participants were recruited as they walked by the apparatus. They rolled onto the stand and were photographed while their weight was recorded. Then they rolled directly off the stand. A checkerboard was mounted behind the stand from which dimensions could be scaled from photographs. Parallax was corrected during the calculation of the dimensions using scaling from the checkerboard and trigonometry. Prior to data collection the reliability of the method was checked by comparing dimensions taken directly from the person with those calculated from the photographs. The differences between the two sets of dimensions in the reliability study were less than 1%. Although 943 people were photographed, 198 participants’ data were omitted due to camera failure, inability to take accurate dimensions from the photographs, or because the participants had rental wheelchairs.

Wheelchair dimensions were defined clearly. Length was measured from the most anterior to posterior dimension, either body part or device part. Width was the unoccupied width. Height was taken from the ground to the highest point, either chair or person. A major limitation of this study is that, although a wide variety of accessories were observed on the devices, they were not measured as part of the width calculation.