Dr. Bonita Sawatzky of the Department of Orthopedics, University of British Columbia is conducting a research study to measure the forces put on the wheel when wheeling, to describe the wheeling strategies of adults, and measure how these forces change over various surfaces such as carpet, tile, and inclines/ramps.
You are being invited to participate if you are 19 years of age or older, have a spinal cord injury either from birth (i.e. Spina Bifida) or from trauma, and use a manual wheelchair with 24” wheels for at least half of your day-to-day mobility.
Participation is voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time.
Location:
The study will take place at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre (818 W. 19th Avenue, Vancouver, BC).
What does participation involve?
The study involves performing four different wheeling tasks using a Smartwheel. The Smartwheel is similar to a regular wheelchair wheel, however it can measure how a person pushes, how much and what type of force it takes to push your wheelchair, and how far the chair travels with each push. The research team will mount the SmartWheel to your chair on the side of your dominat hand for the study, and will change your wheel back to your own wheel at the end of the session. The total time required for participation is 1 hour.
Contact Information:
If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Grace by email at boutilier (at) icord.org or by phone 604-675-8815.
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