WA mobility aid is a device designed to assist walking or otherwise improve the mobility of people with a mobility impairment.
WAssiStep is an accessibility device that can by used by people with reduced mobility to climb and descend the stairs. It consists of a railing system fixed to the wall, on which a handle is attached. The product was developed in Trondheim (Norway) and is now sold in 16 countries.
WAn assistive cane is a walking stick used as a crutch or mobility aid. A cane can help redistribute weight from a lower leg that is weak or painful, improve stability by increasing the base of support, and provide tactile information about the ground to improve balance. In the US, ten percent of adults older than 65 years use a cane, and 4.6 percent use walkers.
WA bath chair—or Bath chair—was a rolling chaise or light carriage for one person with a folding hood, which could be open or closed. Used especially by disabled persons, it was mounted on three or four wheels and drawn or pushed by hand. It is so named from its origin in Bath, England, and possibly also after its similarity in appearance to an old-fashioned bathtub.
WA bridge plate, or bridgeplate, is a mechanical, movable form of wheelchair ramp that is used on some low-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) to provide for wheelchair access. The bridge plate extends from the vehicle to the platform, which must be raised to close to the level of the floor of the vehicle so that the wheelchair need not travel over an excessively steep ramp. Some low-floor buses also use bridge plates to provide for wheelchair access, but many low-floor buses instead use a ramp that normally serves as part of the floor but can be flipped out through the door onto the curb or street; in this case the ramp is long enough that it can serve as a true wheelchair ramp rather than a bridge without being excessively steep.
WThe Canta is a two-seat microcar from the Netherlands specifically created for disabled drivers. It was developed in 1995 by Waaijenberg together with the Delft University of Technology. In addition to the standard petrol-engined production models, an electric Canta was designed for the German market but it has remained at the prototype stage. In the Netherlands, it is classified as a mobility aid because the width of the vehicle is only 1.10 metres, thus it may - unlike larger microcars - be used on cycle paths as well as sidewalks and footpaths; in addition a driver's license is not required.
WThe Chairiot solo is a wheelchair accessible microcar manufactured by Chairiot Mobility Inc. It is one of the few cars for wheelchair users designed specifically for that purpose, and not a conversion.
WEkso Bionics Holdings Inc. is a company that develops and manufactures powered exoskeleton bionic devices that can be strapped on as wearable robots to enhance the strength, mobility, and endurance of soldiers and paraplegics. These robots have a variety of applications in the medical, military, industrial, and consumer markets. It enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness, including those who are paralyzed, to stand up and walk.
WA hobcart was a type of mobility device designed in the late 1960s by Dr. Steven Perry of Albrighton, Shropshire, UK. In his practice he had two young children, both of whom had spina bifida. He considered that the wheelchairs the children were provided with were liable to set them apart from other children of their age, so set about designing a mobility device, that would look like a go-kart. The end result was the hobcart, which when it was first made, was produced at a local borstal. The idea behind this was to try to provide the inmates of the borstal the opportunity to be involved in a project which they could see was doing some good. Hobcarts were still being made into the 1980s.
WThe Honda UNI-CUB is a concept 2-axis self-balancing personal transporter for use in barrier-free indoor environments, and shown at the Osaka Motor Show 2013.
WInvalid carriages were usually single seater road vehicles, buggies, or self-propelled vehicles for disabled people. They pre-dated the electric mobility scooters and from the 1920s were generally powered by a small gasoline/petrol engine, although some were battery powered. They were usually designed without foot-operated controls.
WA knee scooter or knee walker is a two, three or four-wheeled alternative to crutches or a traditional walker as an ambulation aid. It is known by many other names, such as knee coaster, knee cruiser, knee caddy, orthopaedic scooter, or leg walker.
WLift chairs are chairs that feature a powered lifting mechanism that pushes the entire chair up from its base and so assists the user to a standing position.
WA mind-controlled wheelchair is a mind-machine interfacing device that uses thought to command the motorised wheelchair's motion. The first such device to reach production was designed by Diwakar Vaish, Head of Robotics and Research at A-SET Training & Research Institutes. The wheelchair is of great importance to patients suffering from locked-in syndrome (LIS), in which a patient is aware but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except the eyes. Such wheelchairs can also be used in case of muscular dystrophy, a disease that weakens the musculoskeletal system and hampers locomotion.
WA mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid equivalent or auxiliary to a wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter or electric scooter as well. Non-motorized mobility scooters are less common, but are intended for the estimated 60% of wheelchair users who have at least some use of their legs.
WA motorized shopping cart is a shopping cart equipped with an electric motor and navigational controls. It includes a seat thereby also making it a motorized wheelchair, and it has a rechargeable battery that can be charged by plugging in the device when not in use in order to maximize usage. Motorized shopping carts are provided by supermarkets and other large retail stores for those with permanent or temporary physical disabilities who may have difficulty walking through a large store or pushing a regular cart.
WA patient lift may be either a sling lift or sit-to-stand lift. This is an assistive device that allows patients in hospitals and nursing homes and people receiving home health care to be transferred between a bed and a chair or other similar resting places, by the use of electrical or hydraulic power. Sling lifts are used for patients whose mobility is limited. Sling lifts are mobile lifts or overhead lifts.
WA personal transporter is a class of compact, mostly recent, motorised vehicle for transporting an individual at speeds that do not normally exceed 25 km/h (16 mph). They include electric skateboards, kick scooters, self-balancing unicycles and Segways, as well as gasoline-fueled motorised scooters or skateboards, typically using two-stroke engines of less than 49 cc (3.0 cu in) displacement. Many newer versions use recent advances in vehicle battery and motor-control technologies. They are growing in popularity, and legislators are in the process of determining how these devices should be classified, regulated and accommodated during a period of rapid innovation.
WSegway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc.. HT is an initialism for "human transporter" and PT for "personal transporter."
WA transfer bench, is a bath safety mobility device which the user sits on to get into a bathtub. The user usually sits on the bench, which straddles the side of the tub, and gradually slides from the outside to the inside of the tub. Tub transfer benches are used by people who have trouble getting over the tub wall or into the shower, either because of illness or disability.
WA standing frame is assistive technology that can be used by a person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. A standing frame provides alternative positioning to sitting in a wheelchair by supporting the person in the standing position.
WA transfer bench, is a bath safety mobility device which the user sits on to get into a bathtub. The user usually sits on the bench, which straddles the side of the tub, and gradually slides from the outside to the inside of the tub. Tub transfer benches are used by people who have trouble getting over the tub wall or into the shower, either because of illness or disability.
WA walker or walking frame is a tool for disabled people, who need additional support to maintain balance or stability while walking, most commonly due to age-related physical restrictions. In the United Kingdom, a common equivalent term for a walker is Zimmer frame, a genericised trademark from Zimmer Holdings, a major manufacturer of such devices and joint replacement parts.
WA wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, or vertical platform lift is a fully powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier.