National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, 4-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa 359-8555, Saitama, Japan.
Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 20;19(20):13579. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013579.
To provide a safer sitting environment for wheelchair users, it is important to quantitatively measure the forces acting on the contact surface between the seat and the person in the wheelchair. In addition to the pressure acting on the buttocks, shear forces have received particular attention in recent years; however, measuring shear force is more difficult than measuring pressure. To obtain this measurement, a thin and flexible sensor that can be used in a natural state on a wheelchair is needed. Therefore, we constructed a measurement system using our previously developed wearable sheet-type sensor (0.9 mm thick). In this study, preliminary tests were conducted using human dummies before testing on humans. Sensors were placed in four locations on the humanoid dummy's back and buttocks, and the electric wheelchair was tilted and reclined five times each. The results showed that the sensor output pattern was reproducible and valid enough to proceed to the next step. However, the shear force in the internal and external directions was greater than expected, which indicates that the equipment and testing methods must be reviewed. On the basis of the results obtained in this preliminary study, preparations will be made for testing on human subjects.
为了为轮椅使用者提供更安全的坐姿环境，定量测量轮椅座椅与使用者接触面之间的力非常重要。除了作用于臀部的压力外，近年来剪切力也受到了特别关注；然而，测量剪切力比测量压力更困难。为了获得这种测量，需要一种薄而灵活的传感器，这种传感器可以在轮椅上自然使用。因此，我们使用之前开发的可穿戴片状传感器（0.9 毫米厚）构建了一个测量系统。在这项研究中，在对人类进行测试之前，先用人体模型进行了初步测试。传感器被放置在人形假人的背部和臀部的四个位置，电动轮椅被倾斜和后倾五次。结果表明，传感器的输出模式具有足够的可重复性和有效性，可以进行下一步。然而，内外方向的剪切力大于预期，这表明设备和测试方法必须进行审查。基于本初步研究获得的结果，将为人体测试做准备。
