Mobility aids

Though the majority of the population enjoys full function of their limbs and hence normal ambulatory ability, there is a significant number of those amongst us who suffer impaired ambulatory ability. The causes for such ambulatory impairment are numerous including birth defects, accidental injuries, crippling, natural incidences of arthritis and other ailments common to the onset of old age, temporary injuries, etc. In many situations, particularly involving elderly persons, disabled people are required to be cared for in nursing home environments because home-care facilities and family members are unable to provide the necessary patient lifting and transferring capability required. Mobility aids such as wheelchairs and walkers are used by a significant portion of society. These mobility aids provide an important function for those they assist. A range of devices are available to adults whose mobility is impaired, whether because of age, injury, illness etc. These devices are suitable for individuals having varying degrees of coordination, strength and endurance. The health care industry has developed aids for those who suffer from such conditions, including crutches, walkers, rollators, and wheelchairs. A mobility assistive device can be defined as any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase or improve flinctional capabilities of individuals with disabilities or injuries. A crutch is an example of as assistive device that is frequently prescribed to those who suffer from a leg injury in order to help such individual maintain their quality of life. Walkers and canes serve a user with sufficient leg strength to stand erect, providing extra stability or transferring weight off a weak leg. Wheelchairs are for users who have essentially no usable leg strength. Manually propelled wheelchairs having two smaller castered front wheels and two larger rear wheels are well known. These assistive devices are utilized by users which are physically impaired individuals unable to walk or who find walking difficult and are typically propelled by the user. Motorized wheelchairs are commonly powered with an electric motor. A rechargeable battery is typically mounted beneath the wheelchair seat and electrically connected to the electric motor. Depending on the location of the set of wheels that are driven, the wheelchair is categorized as either a front, mid or rear wheel drive wheelchair. Each type of chair has its advantages, disadvantages and design complexities. Vehicular wheelchair lifts are widely utilized to assist persons in wheelchairs to enter and exit vehicles. These lifts typically have a platform for transporting an occupied wheelchair and a safety barrier connected to an outer end of the platform for preventing a wheelchair from inadvertently rolling off the platform during use of the wheelchair lift.