Hi everyone,

I'm a mechanical engineering student at the University of Houston currently working on my senior capstone project, and our team is seeking feedback from members of this community to help guide our design.

We are designing a dual-axis assistive shelf-retrieval mechanism aimed at helping individuals who use wheelchairs to reach high or hard-to-reach shelves at the grocery store.

Our concept uses a two-axis motion system (reaching vertically and extending outward horizontally) to bring items down to an accessible height and distance without requiring you to stretch, strain, or reach high overhead.

How You Can Help

While we are handling the mechanical engineering side, we want to ensure the final design is practical, safe, and truly user-centered. We’ve put together a brief, anonymous survey! We would really appreciate your input!

https://forms.gle/17BEzvtqaC5QoQF78

Thank you so much for your time and insights!

Hi all,

I’ve just been prescribed a wheelchair for ambulatory/part time use. I’m currently getting by with forearm crutches, but it’s not long term sustainable. And I can only use one at work because I need to carry things and can’t do that with two crutches, so they only marginally help. My condition is dynamic, so some days I’m totally ambulatory, some days I can barely get vertical. I choose which days I need an aid at work, and it’s been okay. But when I get a wheelchair, I know I won’t be able to do functions of my job without getting up. The rooms I clean are too small for me to maneuver in a wheelchair. I clean and put sheets on and off treatment tables all day. So the questions are - do I just not use the chair at work? Do I use the chair all the other places I go and hope it conserves enough energy and symptom reduction to make work doable? Do I use it and get up and down repeatedly all day?

For clarity: this is not an issue of my employer not being willing to accommodate me. They have been so far very willing to accommodate me and have even helped make suggestions for things that might help. But they can’t make the rooms bigger, and cleaning them is an essential function of the job. There‘s no one else in my position on shift with me that could clean them for me. Also I’m not looking for medical advice, obviously, just like experienced or ideas on how to navigate this.

If I had my choice I’d go neon pink and black but they don’t have that color.

I’m using this to go back to school and might go back to professional situations (previous executive in clinical oncology R&D).

I love the glacier blue but don’t know if the dark plumb goes well with it or if it’s like Lisa Frank rode up in her chair. With the matte platinum, I figure I can add color when I want (spoke covers etc) and take it away when I want.

I am not in love with either color combination but I am drawn more to the plumb contrast.

Most of my abled body friends and family really do not like the plumb accents - I was surprised it elicited such a strong response.

It will have a smart drive attached to it.

I got my chair at wheelchair services and when I got it I got the rear seat height put down by 1cm I believe. I didn't watch them square the castor housing so I'm not 100% sure they did it. I managed to measure it today after like a year and it's 2° (well 1.8/1.9 if I'm measuring correctly). I have an appointment tomorrow, should I bring this up? Or does it not matter on such a small scale. I obviously appreciate that that any factory setting bolts will probably be in tighter and they're more likely to come loose in future if adjusted iirc.

Edit: I'm getting around 3° on the other side.

So I'm very excited to finally get a hotel again (it's been 2 months due to money issues and now he's got a job so it'll be more often) but I have to take the city bus downtown to the transit center by myself and wait for my husband to get down there after work then hop on the bus that drops us off at the hotel cause fuck Lyft & Uber. Only issue is I've never bussed alone in my wheelchair within my 2 coming up to 3 years being a wheelchair user. My main fear is tipping backwards while rolling up the ramp (Yes I have anti-tippers but Blackbird [my wheelchairs name] Does not give a fuck if I use anti-tippers he will make a show every time.) or a dumb driver that doesn't know how to get me set up but I have to find a way to manage because Miles (My husband) works a full shift tomorrow meaning he gets out at 7pm and gets downtown with 2 busses making him get there at 8-8:30pm depending if there's any delays and I'm gonna probably get to the bus stop by 6pm to try to catch the 6:20pm and get downtown by 6:30 and wait for him downtown then head off on the bus to the hotel.

I'm just a little anxious on bussing by myself

All my life my cars have been fun and generally unreliable…. This is a Toyota Sienna with relatively low miles. It’s out of warranty with Toyota though. I’m being offered $4500 for a warranty which seems crazy high to me. If it was a notoriously unreliable German car sure… but not a Toyota. I’m getting clarity if this includes covering the VMI conversion equipment too. If it does are the wheelchair components really that unreliable? I’m fully abled and do a lot of the maintenance on my own cars but this van is for my wife so if it’s worth it I’d like to know. They’re also offering a $2500 maintenance plan which also is crazy high to me. I’m pretty sure I’m going to reject it all but again it’s our first wheelchair van so I’d really like others opinions.

I had been contemplating my first custom manual to be the QS5X since Naidex in march, but I’ve heard some feedback that they’re not made the best :/

I would like to hear your personal experience with either model, pros and cons to help me decide whether the extra £800 base price is worth it.

I heard there are issues with the QS5X front frame and the castor wheels breaking.

I need the front of the frame to be durable because when I use elevated leg rests, it’s going to shift some of the weight forward. And I also plan on getting a power wheel aid, like the decon edrive or SD motion. Which is going to add extra stress.

Hi guys, I'm a manual wheelchair user based in Wales - and this time of the year I get very very wet (and end up getting very sick as a result!!)

I'm looking for a durable, fashionable, weatherproof jacket/coat that is suitable for being a manual wheelchair user.

All my previous jackets and ponchos end up with giant holes in or getting caught in wheels! My wheelchair gloves also lose all grip when it's wet so looking for recommendations for that too.

Thank you!!

So, I predominantly these days use a power chair-- Quickie Pulse 6, center wheel drive, tilt seating. My arms and shoulders haven't liked my manual chair since after top surgery, and admittedly I haven't been doing the work to get back in shape for it, but that's beside the point of this.

There's a gap between the platform and the cars that absolutely terrifies me with my wheelchair, because while up and down bumps are fine, gaps are what trips you, and I have no clue how to deal with it, or if there's a car that is specifically wheelchair accessible without as much of a gap and that's where you're supposed to board/disembark.

With my manual chair, the way I rode the subway/red line was, because I'm ambulatory, get up, bump the chair across the gap, sit back down, both for getting in and out of the car, and that way I just rode at whichever car is the one that was in front of me without worrying about it.

I'm doing travel training through Access Paratransit, but I'm not holding my breath, because when we were talking to him during the evaluation, he didn't seem to know specifically about how to ride the subway/red line with regard to our question. I was hoping that there was something like a dummy car set up somewhere that we would be practising on first, but that's not a thing, and so we're doing the travel training on a live train, which goes straight back to terrifying. So, I'm hoping that I can get at least some more guidance on here so I'm not going into this just terrified with no information.

Thanks!

Hi!
After borrowing a family friends wheelchair for a few years I am finally buying my very own!
I was wondering what accessories other people recommend such as cushions or phone holders etc.
What helps you when you’re in your wheelchair?
(I am a ambulatory user)

Thanks!!

Hi!

I have been waiting forever to make this post.

I was supposed to pick up my chair in June, but the m90 wheels had flats that couldn't be filled. Then the reps kept ordering the wrong tires. (Pneumatic instead of solid to match the wheels it comes with. Mostly so the breaks didn't have to be fiddled with unnecessarily.)

So a process that was supposed to be April-June ended up being April-October. Better late than never! It came on Tuesday and here I am testing it out downtown!

My one immediate gripe is that during this long wait time, the techs took off my seatbelt, I want it back.

Good morning everyone, I am a full time manual chair user and I am looking at getting a rear mounted power assist for my chair. I’ve got a few weeks before I really would like to have it as I just had a major back surgery, and am still on bedrest. I am wanting one to help take some of stress off my body while I’m recovering and for later on down the road to help my shoulders stay healthy longer. l’ll happily take any suggestions and advice.

Just checked my Vicair cushion and found 6 aircells either completely airless or filled minimally with air. Wasn't expecting this at all, since it's not even 3 months old.

Used a similar Vicair cushion as a loaner from the supplier for over 4 months and never had any leaks with that one. Was told these cells are supposed to be indestructable, with lifelong guarantee.

To other Vicair users: how often do you experience leaky aircells?

Still really happy with this cushion, it's so easily adjustable and comfortable. Even my deformed legs and pelvis are completely supported.

Hello has anyone from the uk got the Robooter e60 pro on finance? I need a new wheelchair and after researching this is the best option but I can’t afford £3k+ right now and I’m currently unable to get out and about until I get a new wheelchair 😢

Every accessibility listing I could find treats "wheelchair accessible" as a yes/no. That told my family nothing useful. Whether a bathroom works depends on which side the grab bar is on and how much transfer space there is, and no listing anywhere records that.

So I built mndaccess.org . Places get rated on nine specifics: door force, doorway width, transfer space, grab bar placement, parking distance, path surface, noise, lighting, staff awareness. Free, no ads, no account to browse.

It's built around motor neuron disease because that's my family's situation, but the measurements are the same ones anyone using a chair cares about. 64 places so far, which is nothing. I'd rather hear which of those nine fields are useless and what I should be recording instead

Hey Community 👋

looking for advice on which manual wheelchair to get

>>this section is explaining what's been going on in this process so far

I was recently measured for a custom manual. I expressed at every part of the process how i'll need a tilt-in-space model. My daily power chair (non-custom) reclines, but really even with that doesn't meet my needs because my brain needs an inversion at least a bit and the feet don't come up. (EASWE B10 model.)

My blood pooling is severe and my brain ends up without enough oxygen to feel and think well. I'm unable to tolerate leaving my bed for long because of this leaving me bedbound 23+hours a day. This is me with my full mattress on a slope with my legs and trunk elevated slightly.

Each time I communicated that I need a tilt-in-space, I was met with push back from the rep/ pt person. When I said I didn't know what model I wanted, he ended up reassuring me that a Tilite Z is the best option. I trusted he understood my needs and this would be an adequate option with the dump as low as possible and footplate high as possible. That plus a full back and head rest. He made it seem like we can angle the back rest sufficiently to meet my needs.

My concern comes from that I haven't seen anyone with a custom manual permanently leaned back and I'm not sure if it was, that that would match my needs. I imagine I'll need to be more upright to self propel and I prefer talking to people while upright because I feel I'm taken more seriously.

I can completely tolerate being in those 0 gravity lawn chair recliners for any amount of time. So, I'd like my wheelchair to mimic those angles, empowering me to not be stuck in bed so much.

Does what the PT ordered even have a chance of meeting my physical needs?

The other caveats are that it must be able to break down and fit into a sedan as well as it be a self-propel manual model because that's what the script is for.

The pt rep measuring guy made it sound like there are no tilt-in-space self push models that break down. I recently found out that he is wrong and want a chair that brings me some independence 💪

Needs: -fit in a sedan -for my knees to be higher than my hips -neck support ( have a little bit of neck strength but can't hold it up for more than a couple minutes so if it's not held up by leaning on my hand while my arm in on an arm rest, it needs some help holding it up) -for my heart to be as close to the same height as my knees for as long as possible (this will determine how long I'm able to be out of bed and I would like to not be bed bound as much as possible)

I've been able to find very minimal information online on manufacturer websites, so I'd really appreciate your expertise.

a couple tilt-in-space models I've found that I think may meet my needs:

Steller GLT: 34lbs • 45° tilt • self push • electric tilt in space option •(does this break down without tools? online doesn't give any info)

https://www.permobil.com/en-us/products/manual-wheelchairs/pdg-stellar-glt

Fuze T50: 44lbs •50° tilt •self push •electric tilt in space option •breaks down without tools for transport

https://www.permobil.com/en-us/products/manual-wheelchairs/pdg-fuze-t50

Does anyone know how much weight adding the electric tilt feature feature adds to these chairs?

I'm a cat parent, and have a Roho air cushion that's ordered, but I haven't received it yet, delays and such.

But I am concerned about how often I've heard of peoples cat's puncturing holes in the cushions, and that the patch kits can only help so much, or sometimes dont at all, etc.

I was wondering it I could try and create a seat cushion cover made from puncture / cut resistent fabrics? Has anyone tried something like that?

Or has anyone noticed even just layers of less intense/thick fabrics ontop the cushion, being enough to reduce puncturing at all? (Like for my current cushion, I have two bathroom pads and then a double sided cooling mini-blanket-fabric over that too.)

I know we need to start getting her (my cat's) nails trimmed more, and refresh her scratch pads frequently too, but she still gets pretty sharp nails, and we realistically can't clip her nails as much as ideal.

So I'm trying to think of the best ways to protect the cushion from the very beginning. But I'm concerned if I use a puncture resistent fabric, I might struggle alot to actually drape it over the cushion well enough, and keep it anchored in place. And ensure that even with at least one layer of fabric over it, it wouldn't be too physically rough of texture. Or that it won't be so thick that itd prevent the proper pressure distribution intended. Or that it'd be really hot and lacking air flow, so then my skin may get too hot/sweaty and therefore at risk of breaking down more, etc...

Idk, I figured I can't be the first one to think about this a possible solution! So please, if anyones tried to do this, or has other "hacks" they've done to protect air cushions, I am all ears (or... eyes. cause reading your responses, lol)

Any advice and/or sharing of experiences is appreciated, thank you!

I have a wedding in 10 days and I can’t believe I didn’t think of any of this. I’m terrified of how this wedding is going to go - dealing with the layout, wearing heels in the chair, I know the parking lot is already a nightmare because it’s gravel so I have to walk my chair in which is bad enough

Would it be wrong of me to call the venue? I’m worried about certain parts of the layout. I’ve been there before for a wedding so I know the reception hall/cocktail hour is fine. To the ceremony space there’s a pathway that’s next to the water/ possibly over it? And I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s made of. It’s very possibly like stone and gravel which would be hell

Then also like the ceremony space I don’t want to be fucking things up with my chair but I imagine imma have to just sit in the back which sucks this person is someone I’m very close to and it would just really suck to be set to the side kinda thing. Same with the reception hall at the chair.

This is a formal event and I’m really worried about how this is going to go. Is it inappropriate for me to call the venue? Just to get info? If anyone’s got any suggestions or experience I’d really appreciate it. I’m just so worried about all of it

I became disabled suddenly by FND, was walking in early July, wheelchair bound by end of August. It was so sudden I had to purchase my wheelchair out of pocket, no one had ever taught me how to use it. My arms hurt, I get stuck on carpet edges, ramps are a huge hurdle. But today I paid for wheelchair skills and physio, learned that I was gripping my rims wrong, I was pushing myself wrong, taught me my centre of balance, where my casters were. This is something I should have been taught when I was discharged from the hospital. My confidence is building but at $200 a session, I’m going to have to learn quickly. No wheelies yet, but hopefully next week. Just astonishing to think it’s easier to get wheelchair training than it is to get physical therapy. The hospital wanted me out of the wheelchair yet refused to give me the help. Now I’ll gladly stay wheelchair bound because it’s more accessible than being healthy.

I have a breathable cushion, I do pressure relief lifts, I wear 100% cotton underwear, but I’m still very sweaty and damp by the end of the day.
I’m getting skin issues that steroids from my doctor aren’t helping with from the constant dampness. I sleep in just boxers, or naked to give myself time to “air out” and be dry, but it isn’t helping either.

I feel like this was asked a year ago but now it’s my turn.
Looking for a power wheelchair and so much garbage online and I’d prefer to only have to send back once or twice.
Need help finding something lightweight enough for us to put in a car by myself. 70# is too much for me. Maybe 50# max.
Don’t need long battery life, just using for a grocery visit or restaurant. Would prefer a seat that is close to current transport chair (17” wide).
Budget is probably $1000 USD. But willing to go outside budget for something I can get into the car.
Not even sure if mother in law has the dexterity to operate so getting it returned is probably important.
Thank you for any help.

My current chair is a 14yr old Tilite ZRA my body has changed I cannot use it anymore without severe back pain. I finally ordered a New Tilite TR over six weeks ago. My DME told me it would be 3 weeks. At week 2 I texted him and reminded him to order the pushrims and find out if the backrest was coming. I called him today to find out what’s happening with my chair and he told me it came in yesterday BUT the pushrims have not been ordered and the backrest was just ordered yesterday 😞. He told me I could come get it tomorrow as it is ( with basic fabric backrest)&(Basic aluminum push rims). Right now I feel so frustrated and let down as the way it is right now, It is not the chair I ordered. I don’t know if I should pick it up incomplete tomorrow or wait the two to four more weeks til
It’s the complete chair I ordered? I worry that if I pick it up tomorrow, that he will forget about completing my chair. Sorry for this being so long, I just feel so disappointed right now. 😔