When parents are getting older, how to choose a wheelchair for their parents has become a heartache for many people, because many people are confused about how to choose it because they are unprofessional. Here, I will share with you how to choose a good wheelchair for their parents.

Wheelchairs are the most common assistive devices in hospitals. For the paralyzed, stroke, amputation and frail elderly people with lower limb fractures, the wheelchair, like their feet, is an important tool to improve their self-reliance, employment and return to society.

Nowadays, there are many types and styles of wheelchairs in the market. At this time, users probably don't know how to match wheelchairs, even if many people hold almost all wheelchairs and buy one casually, this idea is all wet. According to director Cai Liqin, a famous medical scientist, the wheelchair structure and function are different because of the different physical condition, use environment and use of each passenger. According to the survey, 80% of patients who use wheelchairs choose the wrong wheelchair or use it improperly.

Ordinary riders sit in wheelchairs for a long time. An unsuitable wheelchair is not only uncomfortable and unsafe, but also may cause secondary injuries to the riders, so it is very important to choose a suitable wheelchair. But how can we choose the right wheelchair correctly? Director Cai listed the following places where we often buy wheelchairs.

General requirements for wheelchair selection:

Wheelchairs are often used not only indoors but also outdoors. For some patients, wheelchairs may become mobile tools at home or at work. Therefore, the selection of wheelchairs should meet the needs of the rider's illness, and the specifications and sizes should be adapted to the user's body shape to make the ride comfortable and stable; Wheelchairs should also be strong, reliable and durable, and be firmly fixed with the ground when shifting to avoid shaking; Easy to fold and carry; Driving is labor-saving and low energy consumption. General users can accept this price, and allow users to have some autonomy in the choice of appearance (such as color, style, etc.) and functions. Accessories that are easy to buy and maintain.

Type selection of wheelchair:

Usually we see wheelchairs with high back, ordinary wheelchairs, nursing wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, sports wheelchairs and so on. When choosing a wheelchair, we should consider the degree of disability, age, general functional status, place of use and other factors of the patient.

High-back wheelchair-often used for patients with postural hypotension who can't sit at 90 degrees. After the postural hypotension is relieved, the ordinary wheelchair should be replaced as soon as possible, so that patients can drive their own wheelchairs.

Patients with normal upper limb function, such as disabled lower limbs and paraplegic patients, can choose wheelchairs with pneumatic tires in ordinary wheelchairs.

Electric wheelchair-If the upper limb hand function is not good enough to drive an ordinary wheelchair, you can choose an electric wheelchair or a wheelchair with a friction resistance handwheel.

Nursing wheelchair-If the patient's hand function is incomplete and accompanied by mental disorder, he can choose a lightweight wheel guard and be assisted by others.

Sports wheelchair-suitable for young and strong wheelchair users,

The principle of wheelchair adaptation is critical:

Whether the buyer pushes a wheelchair or an electric wheelchair, the principle of adaptation is the key. An adapted wheelchair is not only comfortable to ride, light and labor-saving, but also can prevent adverse consequences such as scoliosis and bedsore. Suggestions on wheelchair adaptation are as follows:

(1) seat width: when sitting in a wheelchair, there should be a gap of 2.5cm between the two sides of the buttocks and the two inner surfaces of the wheelchair, which should not be too wide or too narrow;

(2) Seat depth: When sitting in a wheelchair, the distance between the popliteal fossa (directly behind the knee, the depression at the junction of thigh and calf) and the front edge of the seat should be 6cm;

(3) Height of backrest: Generally, it is appropriate to choose the upper edge of backrest with a difference of about 10 cm from the patient's armpit, but it should be determined according to the functional state of the patient's trunk. The higher the backrest, the more stable the patient sits; The lower the backrest, the more convenient the activities of trunk and upper limbs are.

(4) Pedal height: The pedal is at least 5cm away from the ground. If it is a foot pedal that can be adjusted up and down, the foot pedal can be adjusted until the patient is seated, so that 4 cm at the bottom of the front end of the thigh does not touch the seat cushion.

(5) Selection of armrest height: After the patient sits down, the elbow joint should be bent 90 degrees, and then it is appropriate to add about 2cm upwards.

What brand of wheelchair is good?

With the aging of society, the demand for wheelchair electric wheelchairs is increasing year by year, but the whole wheelchair industry is mixed, with uneven quality and price levels, imitating and copying each other. Xiao Bian thinks that more than 80% of the wheelchairs you can see on the street are inferior, but it is also in line with the 28 laws of the industry. Xiaobian today recommends several high-quality wheelchair brands in the industry. First of all, Xiaobian himself never looks at brand awareness, only at the manufacturer's positioning of his own products and the dimensions of material, humanized design, function, comfort and failure rate. Xiaobian has never paid attention to the so-called egg ranking on the Internet. If you belong to the 80% people who only pursue inferior quality and low price in Law 28, please make a detour. If you want to really sell a good wheelchair, you can read it carefully.

1. Autobock Wheelchair: A real German brand, with exquisite craftsmanship, looks no different from ordinary wheelchairs, but it is a veritable mobile phone in the industry with excellent riding comfort and easy sliding, and its price is expensive. At present, it often sells Stark M2 at a starting price of 4,380 yuan. The starting price of customized wheelchairs is more than 7000 yuan. It should be noted that the Otto Bok wheelchair has not been authorized for sale on any e-commerce platform so far. What you can buy on the e-commerce platform, you want to go!

2. Kangyang Wheelchair: German brand is localized, most styles are produced in Huzhou factory, and high-end styles are produced in Taiwan Province. There are many types of Kangyang wheelchairs, ranging from around 1000 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. It can basically meet the purchasing needs of any group. The classic styles of Kangyang wheelchair clock, KM1502, KM5000, KM5000.2 and KM2500 are all high-grade styles that have been tested by the market. The price range ranges from 2,000 to 5,000 yuan.

3. MiKi wheelchair

Founded in Japan in 1965, it is a well-known brand specializing in rehabilitation equipment such as wheelchairs. The manufacturer is Sangui Rehabilitation Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. MiKi wheelchairs have many styles and exquisite materials, and most of them are made of real 7003 aviation aluminum alloy. MiKi wheelchairs are sedentary and do not deform, which is labor-saving and light. The fly in the ointment is that users who are smaller and larger in size suggest choosing Kangyang wheelchair.

What brand of electric wheelchair is good?

Electric wheelchairs have been widely used, because they can drive by themselves, which can greatly reduce the labor cost of taxiing and make users move more freely. The brands with better quality of electric wheelchairs are Kangyang electric wheelchair, Otto Bok electric wheelchair, Mailebu electric wheelchair, Jin Baihe electric wheelchair, Weizhiqun electric wheelchair, Shuleshi electric wheelchair, etc. People with disabilities who are looking for speed and endurance can choose Weizhiqun electric wheelchair or Kangyang electric wheelchair, and elderly people with limited daily activities can choose Mailebu electric wheelchair, Jin Baihe electric wheelchair or Shuleshi electric wheelchair. All the brands recommended by Xiaobian are relatively high in price but very good in quality, with low failure rate, so you need to rest assured.

Purchase method of electric wheelchair

If you want to buy a satisfactory electric wheelchair, you must first understand the structure of the electric wheelchair, that is, the five parts of the electric wheelchair (controller, motor, battery, electromagnetic brake and frame). Let's explain them in detail according to these five parts:

1) Controller: The controller is the heart of the electric wheelchair. At present, the electric wheelchair controllers on the market mainly include PG controller and domestic controller. Due to a large number of domestic imported controllers, the stability of most domestic controllers has been greatly improved, and the advantages of imported controllers over domestic controllers are no longer obvious.

2) Motor (including gear box): Electric wheelchair motors can be divided into brush motors and brushless motors. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Brushed motors need to replace carbon brushes regularly, but the inertia when driving is very small; Brushless motor needs no maintenance, but it is fast and has a slight inertia. The quality of motor depends on the material of magnetic cylinder and coil. So there is a price difference. When buying an electric wheelchair, you can compare and observe the factors such as the workmanship, power and noise of the motor. Matching the motor is a gearbox, and the quality of the gearbox depends on the metal material and sealing performance. Because there are gears in the gearbox that bite and rub with each other, lubricating oil is needed, so the tightness of oil seal and sealing ring is very important.

3) Batteries: Batteries are divided into lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries. Lithium batteries are small in size, light in weight, have more cycles of charging and discharging, and have a longer service life, but are more expensive; Lead-acid battery is affordable, but it has a large volume and weight, and the cycle charge and discharge times are only about 300-500 times. Lithium battery electric wheelchairs are relatively light in weight. For example, well-known brands such as Guangzhou Hualuntang electric wheelchairs and scooters all use lithium batteries as power sources. The whole vehicle is light and easy to fold, which can be used for home travel.

4) Electromagnetic brake is the safety guarantee of an electric wheelchair, which is essential. In order to reduce the cost, many electric wheelchairs in the market remove the electromagnetic braking function, and at the same time, the necessary parts such as motor gearbox are correspondingly reduced. Such an electric wheelchair can drive on a flat road, but it will slip when driving on an uphill road or a downhill road. It is actually very simple to judge whether an electric wheelchair has automatic braking function. When purchasing, turn off the power supply of the electric wheelchair and push it forward. If you can push it slowly, it means that the electric wheelchair does not have electromagnetic braking, and vice versa.

5) Electric wheelchair frame: The difference of the frame lies in the rationality of material and structural design. Frame materials are mainly divided into iron sheet, steel pipe, aluminum alloy and aerospace aluminum alloy (7 series aluminum alloy); Aluminum alloy and aerospace aluminum alloy frames are light in weight and good in compactness. Compared with other frames, the production technology and equipment are different and the cost is higher. The reasonable form of frame structure design of electric wheelchair is the most easily overlooked by consumers. Wheelchair frames made of the same material have different structural designs, different ride comfort and different service life of wheelchairs.

The above is the simple strategy of how to choose a good wheelchair for the elderly and the disabled. I hope it will be helpful for you to choose a wheelchair. If you need more professional guidance, you can consult the online customer service of the wheelchair network. You are also welcome to test drive a variety of high-end electric wheelchairs and other transportation products in the exhibition hall of Xi' an Weiyijia Medical Device Company for free.