Bridging the gap: from standards to reality in wheelchair headrest-backrest design: a case study.

Purpose: A barrier to the design, manufacture, prescription, testing and evaluation of postural support devices is the lack of user interface force data available. This is in part due to the lack of instrumentation suitable for data collection. This work attempts to address the need for practical in...

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Published in:Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 3138 - 3148
Main Authors: Aveyard, Benjamin, Dauncey, William, Redwood-Thomas, Jacob, Eggbeer, Dominic, Penman, Russell, Tasker, Lorna
Format: equations & formulas pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Nov2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov2025
      vid: 20
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/17483107.2025.2532704
        189411304
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        atl: Bridging the gap: from standards to reality in wheelchair headrest-backrest design: a case study.
      aug:
        au:
          Aveyard, Benjamin
          Dauncey, William
          Redwood-Thomas, Jacob
          Eggbeer, Dominic
          Penman, Russell
          Tasker, Lorna
        affil: Rehabilitation Engineering Unit, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, United Kingdom
      sug:
        subj:
          Wheelchairs
          Adaptive Seating
          Equipment Design Standards
          Posture
          Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation
          Product Evaluation
          Materials Testing
          Human
          Persons with Disabilities
          Comparative Studies
          Cost Savings
          Funding Source
          Portable Equipment
          Wheelchair Control Devices
          International Organization for Standardization
          Descriptive Statistics
          Linear Regression
          Equipment Failure
          Calibration
          Instrument Validation
          Data Analysis Software
      ab: Purpose: A barrier to the design, manufacture, prescription, testing and evaluation of postural support devices is the lack of user interface force data available. This is in part due to the lack of instrumentation suitable for data collection. This work attempts to address the need for practical instrumentation and record force data. Methods: Instrumentation was developed and used to record real-world unidirectional force data from an individual with high-strength extensor patterns. This data was then used to undertake comparative testing of a custom-made backrest shell using methods described in ISO 16840-3: Wheelchair seating - Part 3: Determination of static, impact and repetitive load strengths for postural support devices. Results: Data collected had a higher magnitude and frequency force than comparative testing forces. This led to a pass and a fail respectively, of the original ISO 16840-3 test and the real-world informed parameters. Conclusion: The data collected highlights the need for better understanding of forces exerted by users on the PSDs. This is especially true of users with complex conditions, behaviours and postures that may exert forces outside of the norm. Developing the correct instrumentation and centring users experiences to inform testing, design and manufacture, prescription of devices and technology evaluations is key to this process.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        equations & formulas
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Unknown
    language: English
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