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About Power Chairs
by Angela Atkinson
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Overview
About Power Chairs
There are over a million wheelchair users in the United States according to a recent poll by the Joni and Friends International Disability Center. Many wheelchair providers now offer custom power chairs and scooters, complete with specialized seating systems and patient-specific power controls. Power chairs offer people who would otherwise be unable to move around independently the ability to live and work autonomously.
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History
George Klein, working with the National Research Council of Canada, is credited with inventing the first power wheelchair in the 1950s. He used his power chair to assist disabled veterans during World War II. However, this is a subject of controversy, as some say that the power wheelchair was invented in 1912 when a small motor engine was added to a patient's tricycle, according to a report by Power Chairs Direct. Plus, when American inventor George Westinghouse passed away, family members found several drawings and plans for power chairs. Mr. Westinghouse received nearly 400 patents in his lifetime. The first commercial power wheelchair was marketed in 1916, although it was far too expensive for most people to purchase at that time (see Resources below).
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Identification
Reputable wheelchair providers generally connect you with a certified rehabilitation technology specialist who understands the technology and how to optimize it to fit your needs. Your power wheelchair will be at least partially customized to fit you and will be based on a prescription from your doctor. Your physical or occupational therapist will also likely be involved in designing your power chair. Depending on your level of disability, you may also require custom features like special seating or controls.
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Types
Power chairs come in many shapes and sizes. There are two main types--power wheelchairs and power scooters. Power wheelchairs use electric motors to move the wheels, which are controlled most commonly by joysticks. There are several subtypes of power wheelchairs, including rear drive, center drive, front drive and 4-wheel drive. Each has specific benefits and detriments which are considered by your wheelchair provider while assessing your needs. For example, a patient who lives on a farm might do best with a 4-wheel drive chair, since this type of chair does better on natural terrain than others. Power scooters are more basic in nature, but there are three subtypes--3-wheeled scooters, 4-wheeled scooters and fold-up scooters.
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Considerations
In order to ensure that your health insurance covers power wheelchairs, you first need to check that you have durable medical equipment coverage. Your wheelchair provider will usually handle your insurance claims on your behalf. While most insurance companies have their own standards for what qualifies a chair for reimbursement, many follow the Medicare standard or some version of it. Medicare considers a patient qualified for a power chair if certain criteria are met. First, the patient must be chair or bed confined without the use of a power chair. Next, the patient's condition must warrant the use of a power chair, and the patient must not be able to self propel a manual wheelchair. Finally, the patient must be capable of safely operating the controls on the chair prescribed. A power scooter is covered under similar criteria, but the patient must also be able to safely transfer independently to and from the scooter, and only certain types of physicians may prescribe it. These include doctors of physical medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurology and rheumatology. The only exception to this rule is if one of these physicians is not reasonably accessible to the patient.
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Potential
Inventor Dean Kamen has invented a wheelchair called the IBOT, which is based on the same technology that is used in the Segway PT. This power chair has the ability to stand up and even negotiate chairs. Plus, it has sensors which ensure that the patient remains balanced in the chair. According to a recent report by Power Chairs Info, Mr. Kamen demonstrated this function during an interview in which the reporter threw a 25-lb. bag at him while he stood in an IBOT. The IBOT seemed to sense the bag coming and actually righted itself to avoid falling over. Power wheelchair technology only promises to get better.
