Sunrise Medical unleashes the power of power assist devices with Unicare’s allied health partners
Workshop: Power Assist and Power Add-On Devices
– Challenges, considerations, and appropriate choices
The Camfield, Burswood
Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Power assist and power add-on devices provide increased independence for active users by quickly converting a manual wheelchair into a motorised wheelchair. These increases travel distance and efficiency while retaining all of the capabilities of a manual wheelchair.
This workshop was designed to provide occupational therapists with knowledge about various types of power assist and power add-on devices available, as well as the opportunity to use these devices in practical situations. It also gave clinicians a chance to learn how to set them up and program them for various scenarios.
We were delighted to welcome Prithy Sivaraman from the Sunrise Medical Clinical Education Team once more and enjoyed listening to her personal experiences as a clinician in the field when it came to making decisions about power assist devices.
Prithy delivered a valuable session that covered:
- Clinical considerations for power add-on devices versus power wheelchairs
- The power add-ons devices available and how adding power impacts distance, force and propulsion efficiency of the wheelchairs
- Clinical applications of a manual wheelchair combined with the speed of a power chair
- and more…
Prithy kicked off her presentation by reviewing what power assist devices were, why a user would require power assistance for manual wheelchairs and for what users they would be most suited.
She discussed individual seating goals, outlining what long-term independent mobility will look like for each client, as well as the importance of empowering users to make an informed decision when assessing powered devices for users.
Prithy also shared when and why she would best script these add-on devices to provide optimal support for users.
“It is our job to ensure that our users are making an informed decision and it will be hard to do so if you haven’t tried the equipment yourself.”
Using Sunrise Medical’s Power Assist Power Add On Systems Range, Prithy introduced the Quickie iXpress, Quickie Xtender, Empulse F55 as well as the Quickie IRIS Power Tilt.
She reviewed factors that clinicians should consider during assessments:
- The weight of the client, as well as the weight of the power assist power add-on system
- The overall footprint of the wheelchair with the power-add-on system
- Transport of the equipment
- Plugging and unplugging the power add-on system
- and more…
Prithy also advised attendees to examine the influence of powered devices on various frame types, terrains, and other settings, as well as how different power add-on systems may affect the initial design of a chair.
The workshop also welcomed input from Annette Terranova, Unicare Health’s Clinical Educator and Trainer, who provided valuable insights from her own experiences fitting power add-ons to manual chairs.
“Consider functional benefit versus economical cost.”
Annette spoke about cost and how she has learnt that sometimes powered wheelchairs can turn out to be a better option as power add-on devices can add up over time.
Annette also reminded clinicians to be mindful of crash testing and transit-approved power assist devices and what this meant.
The workshop concluded with attendees having a go with the different power assist and add-on devices fitted on different wheelchairs. Everyone was thrilled to be able to have a play and understand how power impacts the distance, force, and propulsion efficiency of manual wheelchairs.
Thank you
Unicare Health would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend our Power Assist and Power Add-On Devices Workshop.
Along with Prithy and our friends at Sunrise Medical, we trust that everyone had an enjoyable experience understanding power add-on systems and, in the process, developed a more thorough understanding of power assist and power add-on devices to become more knowledgeable prescribers of these devices.
