Development of a Lightweight Adjustable, Modular Pediatric Wheelchair

In Phase I, the project designed and constructed a prototype tilt-in-space wheelchair called the PALM (pediatric, adjustable, lighweight, and modular) that is specifically designed to meet pediatric needs. The goals of the Phase II project include: (1) to further refine the design of the PALM, (2) verifty functionality of the prototype through end-user testing and evalution on an Activities of Daily Living Course, and (3) conduct two-week take-home trials that allow for in-depth evaluation of the PALM in the natural environment of the end-user and allow parents and children to compare the PALM with the child's own wheelchair on a wide variety of dimensions. The final result is to create a tilt-in-space pediatric wheelchair that can meet the unique needs of a growing child, can provide all the desired features of an optimal daily-use pediatric wheelchair, and can also be manufactured at low cost so that it can be made widely available to the pediatric populations in the U. S. and international markets.