A New Manual Wheelchair Simulator with Haptic Biofeedback to Improve Propulsion Effectiveness

This study describes a new simulator that provides haptic biofeedback to help manual wheelchair users gain a more effective propulsion pattern. Propulsion effectiveness is measured using the mechanical effective force (MEF). The simulator implements a dynamic model that replicates overground propulsion conditions. Haptic biofeedback increases the feeling of rolling resistance if the user’s MEF pattern deviates from a chosen target MEF pattern. Six manual wheelchair users participated in a training session on the simulator with haptic biofeedback. On average, participants increased their mean MEF by 6.3% on the left side and 7.5% on the right side during the training session compared to the pre-training period. Moreover, participants generally succeeded to follow the target pattern during training. Haptic biofeedback appears to improve propulsion effectiveness in manual wheelchair users.