Use of "Smart Wheelchairs" to Provide Independent Mobility to Visual and Mobility Impairments - Full Text View

Sponsored by:	Department of Veterans Affairs
Information provided by:	Department of Veterans Affairs
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00333762

Purpose

The goal of this project is to evaluate the Smart Wheelchair Component System (SWCS) for power wheelchairs and the Smart Power Assistance Module (SPAM) for manual wheelchairs in realistics indoors environments with target users performing realistic tasks. We will combine group trials involving individuals who have a visual impairment (but do not have a mobility impairment)with several single-case studio involving individuals who have a visual and mobility impairment. Our long-term objective is to provide independent mobility to veterans with mobility and sensory impairments.

Condition	Intervention
Wheelchair Users Blindness	Device: Smart Wheelchair Component System (SWCS) Device: Smart Power Assistance Module (SPAM)

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Prevention, Non-Randomized, Open Label, Uncontrolled, Single Group Assignment, Efficacy Study
Official Title:	Use of "Smart Wheelchairs" to Provide Independent Mobility to Visual and Mobility Impairments

Further study details as provided by Department of Veterans Affairs:

Primary Outcome Measures:

Participants in lab trials will complete a serious of navigation tasks. We will record time to complete the task, number of collisions, and average obstacles clearance.
Participants in field trials will use a smart wheelchair in their home for 4 weeks. We will record total distance traveled per week.

Secondary Outcome Measures:

During lab trials and feild trials we will record subjective measures of task difficulty and device satisfaction.
During feild trials we will record subjective measures satisfaction.

Estimated Enrollment:	20
Study Start Date:	June 2006
Study Completion Date:	May 2008

Detailed Description:

There are currently very few mobility options for veterans who have a mobility impairment and visual impairment, and this population will grow as the number of older veterans increases. The goal of this project is to evalutate the Smart Wheelchair Component System (SWCS) for power wheelchairs and the Smart Power Assistance Module (SPAM) for manual wheelchairs in realistic indoor environments with target users performing realistics tasks. We will combine group trials involving individuals who have a visual impairment (and may or may not have a mobility impairment) with several single-case studies involving individuals who have a visual and mobility impairment.

The key questionss that will be addresses by the proposed research are:

Can smart wheelchair technology improve performance on realistic navigation tasks for individuals with visual and mobility impairments?

Will smart wheelchair technology increase the amount of independent travel by individuals with visual and mobility impairments?

Will using a smart wheelchair for an extended period of time diminish a person's ability to operate a "traditional" wheeled mobility aid?

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

All participants will be completely blind
Participants will be able to operate a power wheelchair with joystick control
Participants will be able to puch a manual wheelchair a minimum of 300 yards

Exclusion Criteria:

Mobility impairment

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00333762

Locations

United States, Georgia
VAMC, Decatur
Decatur, Georgia, United States, 30033
United States, Pennsylvania
VAMC, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15206

Sponsors and Collaborators

Department of Veterans Affairs

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Richard Simpson, PhD

Human Engineering Research Laboratories

More Information

Additional Information:

Human Engineering Research Laboratories This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

No publications provided

Study ID Numbers:	B4065X
Study First Received:	June 2, 2006
Last Updated:	February 3, 2009
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00333762 History of Changes
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by Department of Veterans Affairs:

wheelchairs
blindness
aging

Study placed in the following topic categories:

Signs and Symptoms
Sensation Disorders
Vision Disorders

Eye Diseases
Neurologic Manifestations
Blindness

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Signs and Symptoms
Sensation Disorders
Vision Disorders
Eye Diseases

Nervous System Diseases
Neurologic Manifestations
Blindness

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on July 02, 2009