Koyama Soichiro, Tatemoto Tsuyoshi, Kumazawa Nobuhiro, Tanabe Shigeo, Nakagawa Yuki, Otaka Yohei
Faculty of Rehabilitation, School of Health Sciences, Fujita Health University, Japan.
Faculty of Rehabilitation, School of Health Sciences, Fujita Health University, Japan.
Appl Ergon. 2023 Feb;107:103920. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103920. Epub 2022 Oct 25.
Various-shaped joysticks steer electric-powered wheelchairs (EPWs); however, an operability evaluation has not been fully conducted. This study evaluated the subjective and objective operability of various-shaped joysticks in 22 younger and 22 older adults. Participants operated an EPW on an experimental course using nine different-shaped joysticks, before ranking each joystick by their operability (1 = best, 9 = worst) as a primary outcome. Movement time (MT) and driving accuracy (DA) were also measured. Despite no significant differences in the primary outcome between joysticks, the I-shaped joystick with rounded tips (neutral grip) was ranked higher than the others. MT did not differ between joysticks, but DA was higher for the thin-columnar I-shaped joystick (pinch grip) than for the U- and T-shaped joysticks (pronated grip). MT and DA scores for young adults were significantly better than those for older adults. Further studies should be conducted to clarify possible factors related to EPW operability.
各种形状的操纵杆用于操控电动轮椅（EPW）；然而，尚未对其可操作性进行全面评估。本研究评估了22名年轻人和22名老年人对各种形状操纵杆的主观和客观可操作性。参与者在实验路线上使用九种不同形状的操纵杆操作电动轮椅，然后将每个操纵杆按其可操作性进行排序（1 = 最佳，9 = 最差）作为主要结果。还测量了运动时间（MT）和驾驶准确性（DA）。尽管操纵杆之间的主要结果没有显著差异，但带有圆形尖端的I形操纵杆（自然握持）的排名高于其他操纵杆。操纵杆之间的MT没有差异，但细柱状I形操纵杆（捏握）的DA高于U形和T形操纵杆（旋前握持）。年轻人的MT和DA得分明显优于老年人。应进行进一步研究以阐明与电动轮椅可操作性相关的可能因素。
