Whole body dampening properties of a wheelchair rider

Author

VanSickle, D.P. ; Cooper, Rory A. ; Albright, S.J.

Author_Institution

Human Eng. Res. Lab., Pittsburgh Univ., PA, USA

fYear

1994

fDate

3-6 Nov 1994

Firstpage

498

Abstract

A model is developed to simulate the whole body dampening properties of a wheelchair rider. This model is based on a 4 pole, 2 zero, transfer function. The order of the model was determined by finding an inflection in the model order verses correlation curves. The model produced correlation between predicted accelerations at the rider´s head and actual accelerations at the rider´s head which averaged 0.84. The poles were found to be located in consistent positions within the unit circle. This transfer function can now be used for the purpose of correlating rider comfort with transmitted and absorbed accelerations without the need for mounting accelerometers on the individual and for quantitatively comparing wheelchair designs

Keywords

acceleration; biomechanics; damping; handicapped aids; poles and zeros; transfer functions; vibrations; absorbed accelerations; accelerations; correlation curves; model order; rider comfort; rider head; transfer function; transmitted accelerations; unit circle; wheelchair designs; wheelchair rider; whole body dampening properties; Acceleration; Accelerometers; Biological system modeling; Biomedical engineering; Ergonomics; Filters; Frequency; Laboratories; Poles and zeros; Predictive models; Transfer functions; Wheelchairs;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1994. Engineering Advances: New Opportunities for Biomedical Engineers. Proceedings of the 16th Annual International Conference of the IEEE

Conference_Location

Baltimore, MD

Print_ISBN

0-7803-2050-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.1994.411935

Filename

411935