Development & Testing of the Single Motor Propelled Wheelchair For India & other

描述（由申请人提供）：全世界大约需要6500万辆轮椅（WC），而那些在资源较少的环境（LRE）中的轮椅（如印度）面临着以可承受的价格获得可提供功能性移动的设备的困难挑战。几十年的证据表明，转移低成本的西式手动WC并不能满足需求，因为这些设备具有推进挑战性，在LRE的极端环境中过早失效，并且通常无法用本地工具和材料进行修复。一些组织正在开展国际努力，通过设计适当的手动WC和在LRE中建立临床和技术资源来解决这些缺点，以满足持续的需求。不幸的是，这些努力并没有解决将受益于电动轮椅（EPWs）的人们的需求，并且低成本的西式设备开始挤满市场，尽管它们表现不佳，过早地失败，并且在某些情况下在西方市场已经停产。为了避免西式手动卫生间转移后出现的陷阱，应设计一种负担得起的EPW，以满足生活在LRE中的个人的需求。为了满足这一需要，在印度坎普尔的印度假肢制造公司和印度新德里的印度脊柱损伤中心完成了一项多年期工作，收集了人种学数据，并开发和评价了单电机驱动轮椅的原型。这里提出的研究的目的是完成SIMPL-WC的开发和测试，并将设计转移到印度的EPW制造商进行商业化。设计SIMPL-WC的人类工程研究实验室（HERL）的工程师将根据印度受试者的反馈实施设计变更，并将设计转移到ISIC，印度EPW制造商（Ostrich Mobility）将制造5台SIMPL-WC。其中三个设备将在HERL根据国际轮椅标准（ISO 7176）进行测试，ISIC的潜在用户将对其余两个设备进行评估。将根据HERL和ISIC的测试结果进行设计变更，然后Ostrich Mobility将生产13个更新的SIMPL-WC。其中三个设备将在HERL接受ISO测试，印度用户将在ISIC协调的一项研究中使用其余10个设备进行家庭试验。经过ISO和人体测试的这两个迭代，Ostrich Mobility将商业化SIMPL-WC。 公共卫生相关性：尽管在印度等资源较少的环境中，残疾人对动力移动性的需求非常迫切，但现有的设计都是基于西方风格的设计，并且经常被拒绝，因为它们负担不起或无法通过用户的环境。我们的目标是完成单电机驱动的电动轮椅的研究和开发，这是一种低成本，高度可拆卸，本地制造，并将满足所有资源较少的环境中的临床需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Approximately 65 million wheelchairs (WCs) are needed worldwide, and those in less-resourced environments (LREs), such as India, are faced with the difficult challenge of accessing devices that can provide functional mobility for an affordable price. Decades of evidence has revealed that transferring low-cost western-style manual WCs does not address the need because these devices are challenging to propel, fail prematurely in the sometimes extreme environments of LREs, and often cannot be repaired with indigenous tools and materials. Several organizations are mounting international efforts to address these shortcomings by designing appropriate manual WCs and establishing clinical and technical resources in LREs to meet the ongoing need. Unfortunately, these efforts have not addressed the needs of people who would benefit from electric powered wheelchairs (EPWs), and low-cost western style devices are beginning to crowd the market despite the fact they perform poorly, fail prematurely, and in some cases have been discontinued in the western markets. To avoid the pitfalls that occurred after transferring western-style manual WCs, an affordable EPW should be designed that can meet the needs of individuals living in LREs. To address this need, a multi-year effort has been completed which gathered ethnographic data and developed and evaluated a prototype of the Single Motor Propelled Wheelchair (SIMPL-WC) at the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) in Kanpur, India and at the Indian Spinal Injuries Center (ISIC) in New Delhi, India. The aim of the research proposed here is to finalize the development and testing of the SIMPL-WC and transfer the design to an EPW manufacturer in India for commercialization. Engineers at the Human Engineering Research Labs (HERL) who conceived of the SIMPL-WC will implement design changes based on feedback from Indian subjects and will transfer the design to ISIC and an Indian EPW manufacturer (Ostrich Mobility) will fabricate five SIMPL-WCs. Three of these devices will be tested according to International Wheelchair Standards (ISO 7176) at HERL, and potential users at ISIC will evaluate the remaining two. Design changes will be made based on results of the testing at HERL and ISIC, and Ostrich Mobility will then manufacture 13 of the updated SIMPL-WC. Three of these devices will undergo ISO testing at HERL and Indian users will use the remaining 10 for in-home trials in a study coordinated at ISIC. After these two iterations of ISO and human-subjects testing, Ostrich Mobility will commercialize the SIMPL-WC. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Despite the overwhelming need for powered mobility for people with disabilities in less-resourced environments like in India, existing designs are based on western-style designs and are frequently rejected because they are unaffordable or do not maneuver through the user's environment. Our goal is to finalize the research and development of a Single Motor Propelled Powered Wheelchair that is a low-cost, highly maneuverable, locally manufacturable, and will meet the clinical needs in all less-resourced environments.