36 CFR Part 1195 Proposed Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment NPRM - Preamble

Knee and Toe Clearance (M303.2.4)

M303.2.4 would require the depth of wheelchair spaces to include knee and toe clearance of 17 inches minimum and 25 inches maximum. Knee and toe clearance under breast platforms would be 25 inches deep. Knee and toe clearance are critical where patients seated in a wheelchair need to position their knees and toes next to or underneath a component of the diagnostic equipment. The component can be deeper than the 25 inches maximum depth required for knee and toe clearance, but a portion of the wheelchair space would be required to include knee and toe clearance of 17 inches minimum and 25 inches maximum under the component.

The dimensions for toe clearance in M303.2.4.1 and knee clearance in M303.2.4.2 are based on the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines and are shown in the second column of the table below. The Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project showed that these dimensions do not accommodate many people in the sample and recommended alternative dimensions that would accommodate 95 percent of the people in the sample. The alternative dimensions recommended by Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project are shown in the last column of the table below. See Final Report of the Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project, pages 89‒92. The Access Board is considering requiring in the final standards the dimensions for toe clearance and knee clearance recommended by the Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project.

Question 34. Comments are requested on the following questions regarding the dimensions for toe clearance and knee clearance recommended by the Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project that the Access Board is considering requiring in the final standards:

a) What would be the incremental costs for the design or redesign and manufacture of the equipment to include toe clearance and knee clearance that meets the dimensions recommended by the Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project?

b) Are there types of equipment that cannot include toe clearance and knee clearance that meets the dimensions recommended by the Wheeled Mobility Anthropometry Project because of the structural or operational characteristics of the equipment?

M303.2.5 would require wheelchair space surfaces to not slope more than 1:48 in any direction. This is consistent with the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines.