Anthropometry of Wheeled Mobility Project: Final Report

3.3.1 Unoccupied Device Width

The unoccupied widths of devices were similar for the mean and 80th percentile values across research findings from different countries (Figure 3‒1). Our sample overall had, on average, larger mean and 80th percentile values for unoccupied device width than other countries. This was in part due to the larger percentage of powered wheelchair users and manual bariatric wheelchair users that were included in our study.

The unoccupied widths of devices used for the “reference wheelchair” described in the U.S. and Canadian standards are smaller than many of the WhMD users in our sample. For example, our results for mean unoccupied width are just under the U.S. standard reference wheelchair of 660 mm (26 in.). But, the widest device measured (a manual wheelchair) was over 300 mm (12 in.) wider than the U.S. standard’s reference wheelchair. The U.S. standards, generally accepted by the other countries, were derived from manufacturers’ data in the 1970’s and did not include many of WhMD technologies that are in use today.

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* Indicates data plotted in the graph.

Figure 3-1. Unoccupied WhMD width: research findings versus the standards.