Biomedical Aspects of Manual Wheelchair Propulsion: The State of the Art II (Assistive Technology Research Series)

Mobility is fundamental to health, social integration and individual well-being of the human being. Henceforth, mobility must be viewed a being essential to the outcome of the rehabilitation process of wheelchair dependent persons and to the successful (re-)integration into society and to a productive and active life. Many lower limb disabled subjects depend upon a wheelchair for their mobility. Estimated numbers for the Netherlands, Europe and USA are respectively 80,000, 2,5 million and 1.25 million wheelchair dependent individuals. Groups large enough to allow a special research focus and conference activity. Both the quality of the wheelchair, the individual work capacity, the functionality of the wheelchair/user combination, and the effectiveness of the rehabilitation programme do indeed determine the freedom of mobility. Their optimization is highly dependent upon a continuous and high quality research effort, in combination with regular discussion and dissemination with practitioners. The book tends to give a state of the art view on the current fundamental, clinical and applied research findings and their consequences upon wheelchair propulsion, arm work, wheelchair training and possible consequences of a wheelchair confined life style. Also its implications for rehabilitation, as well as alternative modes of ambulation and activity in the wheelchair confined population, such as functional electrical stimulation and its possible future developments, are dealt with.