Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Assist Technol. 2013 Fall;25(3):176-80. doi: 10.1080/10400435.2013.785450.
The objective of this project was to document the state of wheelchair cushions after everyday use by identifying signs of wear, fatigue, and failure. Visual inspection was done on 202 wheelchair cushions with average and median ages of 2.7 and 2 years, respectively. Most cushions were deemed to be "clean" and the proportion did not change across age groups. A high proportion of cushion covers showed signs of wear with damage to fabric and seams being most prevalent. Foam cushions showed more signs of wear than viscous fluid or air cushions. More than 60% of foam cushions showed signs of permanent deformation, and in nearly half, the foam exhibited granulation or brittleness. About 15% of the bladders used in viscous fluid or air cushions exhibited cracks or breaks in the material. In conclusion, a visual inspection of wheelchair cushions showed that most cushions appeared clean and were in good repair over a wide range of ages and usage patterns. While documenting signs of wear after use can help inform interventions and monitoring, research is needed to document changes in performance of wheelchair cushions overtime as a means to develop better replacement strategies.
本项目旨在通过识别磨损、疲劳和故障迹象，记录轮椅坐垫在日常使用后的状态。对 202 个轮椅坐垫进行了目视检查，它们的平均和中位数年龄分别为 2.7 岁和 2 岁。大多数坐垫被认为是“干净”的，且不同年龄组之间的比例没有变化。坐垫套有很高的磨损迹象，织物和缝线损坏最为常见。泡沫坐垫比粘性液体或空气坐垫显示出更多的磨损迹象。超过 60%的泡沫坐垫显示出永久性变形的迹象，几乎一半的泡沫出现了颗粒化或脆化。大约 15%的粘性液体或空气垫中使用的气囊显示出材料的裂缝或断裂。总之，对轮椅坐垫进行的目视检查表明，大多数坐垫在广泛的年龄和使用模式下看起来干净整洁，且状况良好。虽然记录使用后的磨损迹象有助于为干预和监测提供信息，但需要研究随着时间的推移，轮椅坐垫性能的变化情况，以便制定更好的更换策略。
