This is the definitive text for everyone concerned with wheelchair selection, including physical and occupational therapists, physiatrists, and other health care providers involved with helping patients to achieve optimal seating. Chapters discuss wheelchair measurement, engineering fundamentals, biomechanics, electronics, and standards. Various types of wheelchairs are considered, including manual, powered, specialized, and sports chairs the selection of seat cushions and specialized seating systems are considered in depth, and assessment and intervention are reviewed. The audience for this book includes undergraduate and graduate students studying occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation science, and rehabilitation engineering. It also is a suitable reference for professionals in engineering and the health professions. It assumes that the reader has a working knowledge of human anatomy, human physiology, and physics. Some exposure to clinical practice also is beneficial. Each chapter opens with a set of goals that orient the reader to the material covered. For example, the goals of the chapter Wheelchair Engineering Fundamentals are: To understand mechanical and material properties To understand the relationship between technology and its environment To know how to problem-solve and integrate technical and functional information To understand the roles, constraints, and perspectives of designers and fabricators Extensive illustrations guide the reader through all concepts of wheelchair design and prescription. "

A journalist for National Public Radio and ABC News recounts the challenges he has faced as a paraplegic at home and abroad, from the dangers of war-torn Iraq and Jerusalem to discrimination at home. Reprint.

The guidelines focus on manual wheelchairs and the needs of long-term wheelchair users. The recommendations are targeted at those involved in wheelchair services, ranging from design and planning, to providing or supplying wheelchairs and their maintenance.