The Development and Performance Finding of Electric Wheelchair with Adjustable Seat Position for Recuperating Patient

Abstract

This research aims to develop, find the performance of an electric wheelchair that can adjust the position for reclining, sitting, and seat lifting standing for recuperating patients, and study the user’s satisfaction. The sample included 30 recuperating patients who had to spend their life on a wheelchair for their daily activities in Phanom Subdistrict, Phanom District, Surat Thani Province. They were selected through purposive sampling technique.

The research instrument was a record form and satisfaction questionnaires analyzed by percentage, mean, standard deviation.The results showed that the developed electric wheelchair with adjustable seat position for recuperating patient consists of 3 sets of linear motor, a set of circuit control box for adjusting the position, driving motor wheels with a battery as an electric source, stainless steel wheelchair structure, and waterproof leather cushion. The experiments on motion performance included various ground conditions with the results as follows: 100% performance on flat surface, 90%performance on grass, and 90 % on rough terrain. The time for adjusting the position from sitting to lying was at the average of 1.18 to 1.22 minutes, from lying to sitting was at the average of 1.20 to 1.25 minutes, and from sitting to standing was at the average of 1.20 to 1.25 minutes. When climbing the ramp, users can assess the ratio of 1:6. The alarm function, emergency sound, and battery status of the developed electric wheelchair could regularly perform well. When evaluating the satisfaction of users, it is found that the overall satisfaction level is very high followed the hypothesis.