AN INSTRUMENTED WHEEL FOR KINETIC-ANALYSIS OF WHEELCHAIR PROPULSION

An instrumented wheel system for three-dimensional kinetic analysis of upper extremity during wheelchair propulsion has been designed and va lidated This system allows the direct measurements of three-dimensiona l dynamic forces and moments on the handrim during wheelchair propulsi on in a laboratory setting as well as in the field Static loading test s showed a high linearity and little drift (coefficient of determinati on, r(2) > 0.999). Under dynamic loading, the instrumented wheel provi ded the well-matched measurement forces and moments with the predicted values from the inverse dynamic method using video-based kinematic da ta (correlation coefficient, rho > 0.97). The three-dimensional handri m forces and moments during wheelchair propulsion by a non-disabled su bject were demonstrated.