Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels. The device comes in variations allowing either manual propulsion by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand, or electric propulsion by motors. There are often handles behind the seat to allow it to be pushed by another person.

Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, or disability. People who have difficulty sitting and walking often make use of a wheelbench.

History

The earliest records of wheeled furniture was an inscription found on a stone slate in China and a child’s bed depicted in a frieze on a Greek vase, both dating back to the 5th century BCE. The first records of wheeled seats being used for transporting the disabled date to three centuries later in China; the Chinese used their invented wheelbarrow to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 CE, when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.

International Symbol of Access

The International Symbol of Access (ISA), also known as the (International) Wheelchair Symbol, consists of a blue square overlaid in white with a stylized image of a wheelchair. It is maintained as an international standard, ISO 7001, and a copyrighted image of the International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA), a committee of Rehabilitation International (RI).

History

The ISA was designed by Danish design student Susanne Koefoed in 1968. It was first sketched at a radical design conference mounted by the Scandinavian Students Organization (SDO). The group organized a summer study session at Stockholm’s art and design college, Konstfack, alternating time between workshop sessions and larger lectures. In these lectures, the tone was set by the American designer and educator Victor Papanek. In the writings that he formulated during this period, too, he imagined persons who were disabled –both physically challenged and mentally—as figures in need of renewed attention. Although there is no evidence that Papanek met Koefoed, his influence pervaded the seminar where the original ISA was drafted. Charged with creating a sign-symbol to mark barrier-free accommodations, Koefoed presented an early version of the symbol at the July, 1968 exhibition held at the SDO seminar’s end. Koefoed’s symbol depicts an empty wheelchair. This icon was widely promoted around Sweden the following year.

Motorized wheelchair

A motorized wheelchair, powerchair, electric wheelchair or electric-powered wheelchair (EPW) is a wheelchair that is propelled by means of an electric motor rather than manual power. Motorized wheelchairs are useful for those unable to propel a manual wheelchair or who may need to use a wheelchair for distances or over terrain which would be fatiguing in a manual wheelchair. They may also be used not just by people with 'traditional' mobility impairments, but also by people with cardiovascular and fatigue based conditions.

History

The electric-powered wheelchair was invented by George Klein who worked for the National Research Council of Canada, to assist injured veterans after World War II.

Design

Powerchair design may be categorized by drive system/chassis, battery, controller, seat, and use.

Drive System/Chassis

Powerchairs are generally four-wheeled or six-wheeled and non-folding, however some folding designs exist and other designs may have some ability to partially dismantle for transit.