An approach to adapt wheelchairs

The Rehabilitation Centre of People with Physical Disabilities is a national organization active in the complex rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities, among them people with severe physical and multiple disabilities. The main goal of our EU-funded national program named “Rolling” is to enhance the social and labor market integration of people with physical disabilities through the establishment of a national network of regional workshops for the development of assistive technology and special sports equipment.
One of our main goals is to establish a national service that adapts assistive technology to the individual needs of users. This means the individual setup of the best suitable assistive equipment that requires the least energy from its user.
It is very important that the adaptation and maintenance of assistive and sports equipment be based on a personal examination of the client by rehabilitation experts. The theoretical and practical training of rehabilitation experts as well as the dissemination of ICF (International Classification of Functions and Disability) methodology are natural components of the project.
The paper presents the short description of the project, the risk assessment of the use of wheelchair and finally the methods and tools which can minimize the risk of Pressure ulcers and the RSI.