Functional electrical stimulation cycling wheelchair for stroke patients: Design and preliminary evaluation results

People with post-stroke neurological damage may be left with physical impairments deeply affecting their daily life. Using a manual wheelchair is a common manner of locomotion for stroke patients in recovery stage. However, this kind of wheelchair is poor clinical considered and difficult for them to use. A functional electrical stimulation system with cycling system wheelchair (FCW) for hemiplegic patients was designed and proposed in this study. Hemiplegic patients can propel the FCW using both the unaffected and affected legs and can steer the wheelchair efficiently. A clinical evaluation was conducted to assess both the chair's maneuverability and user-satisfaction with the chair. A total of 12 participants were recruited to evaluate the FCW by comparing with a commercially available manual wheelchair (MW). The results inducted that the FCW was more maneuverable than the MW. In addition, participants were more satisfied with the FCW than with the MW. Therefore, we concluded that it is easier and more efficient for hemiplegic stroke patients to operate the FCW than the MW.