Ultralight wheelchair part failures are associated with sensor-monitored road shocks: A pilot study

Wheelchair part failures and repairs have significantly increased over the last decade, leading to severe consequences for wheelchair users. Servicing these devices by wheelchair repair technicians has reduced part failures. However, no tools or technologies have been developed to support servicing in practice. To inform servicing events, risk factors affecting wheelchair quality and reliability need to be identified. This pilot study tracks wheelchair usage for a week in the community for eight ultralight manual wheelchair users and assesses the relationship between usage variables and user-reported part failures over 20 months. The participants’ preferences for using smart technology for wheelchair servicing were evaluated. At least 73 wheelchair part failures and two adverse consequences were reported. Data analysis indicated associations between part failure frequency, usage variable of road shocks, wheelchair maintenance frequency, and the user’s demographic characteristics of training status and transportation. Six participants favored using smart technology for wheelchair servicing. This study’s findings encourage the development of usage monitoring technology and failure prediction models to support technician-led servicing and prevent wheelchair failures and user consequences.