Article Sidebar
Published:
Dec 28, 2015DOI:
10.4314/njt.v35i1.9Keywords:
Article Details
Copyright belongs to the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
The contents of the articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and not of NIJOTECH.
NIJOTECH allows open access for distribution of the published articles in any media so long as whole (not part) of articles are distributed.
A copyright and statement of originality documents will need to be filled out clearly and signed prior to publication of an accepted article. The Copyright form can be downloaded from https://www.nijotech.com/downloads/COPYRIGHT%20FORM.pdf while the Statement of Originality is in Statement of Originality.pdf (nijotech.com)
For articles that were developed from funded research, a clear acknowledgement of such support should be mentioned in the article with relevant references. Authors are expected to provide complete information on the sponsorship and intellectual property rights of the article together with all exceptions.
It is forbidden to publish the same research report in more than one journal.
Main Article Content
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A PILOT PARAPLEGIC CENTRICITY MOBILITY AID
Abstract
This paper was aimed at evaluating the functional characteristics of a developed mobility aid for paraplegics in Benin City, Nigeria using their anthropometric data. These functional characteristics were compared with the conventional motorised wheel chair found in most city centres in Nigeria under the same condition. The method adopted in establishing the differences in the developed mobility aid and the conventional types include the use of variables such as, the time required to board, time to complete a 100 meters distance, fuel consumption rate and the subjects’ operational postural angles. The values obtained from these findings were computed and compared with the values obtained from the conventional wheel chair under the same operational conditions. Consequently, the values obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using the Van der Waerden normal score test and the Wilcoxin’s signed rank test. The result of the test showed a remarkable improvement in fuel consumption rate, ease of use and other functional characteristics of the developed mobility aid over the conventional wheelchair available to paraplegics in Nigeria. From the result, it is evidential that the developed mobility aid meets the requirements of adult paraplegics in Nigeria. The use of this mobility aid will make them lead a normal way of life and contribute meaningfully to national growth and development.
