Types of Electric Wheelchairs


by Jackie Jones - Date: 2006-12-20 - Word Count: 463 Share This!

Most medical equipment supply companies offer a vast line of electric wheelchairs. The different versions will vary by size, weight capacity and other options. There are oversized chairs for bariatric (or obese) patients. There are smaller chairs for children and petite adults. There are also different seats, colors and footpads for chairs.

The options for electric wheelchairs can vary depending on a person's needs. Some people need elevating leg rests (ELRs) to keep good circulation in the legs. Others might need an oxygen tank holder to carry portable oxygen tanks. People with ulcers and sores might need specialty seating.

Pride Mobility Products Corp., Invacare Corporation and Hoveround manufacture the three most common electric wheelchair brands in the United States. Although there are many different companies that manufacture this equipment, these three easily have the most popular brand name recognition.

Pride Mobility is a company that specializes in manufacturing power mobility devices and vehicle lifts. It is responsible for the Jet, Jazzy and Quantum lines of electric wheelchairs. The Jet series includes the Jet 3 Ultra, the Jet 2HD, the Jet 7 and the Jet 10 electric wheelchairs.

The more popular line is the Jazzy Electric Wheelchair. The Jazzy series includes the Jazzy Select, the Jazzy 1103 Ultra (which includes a seat lifting mechanism), the Jazzy 1121 and others. The Jet and Jazzy series combined represent the most common type of electric wheelchair on the market today. Pride's third line is the Quantum series, which is tailored to high-end rehab and specialty needs patients.

Invacare is the overall industry leader for home medical products, which include everything from canes and walkers to home oxygen products to electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters. When it comes to just power mobility products, they are probably behind Pride Mobility when it comes to market saturation.

Invacare is responsible for popular Pronto series of electric wheelchairs. The Pronto series includes the Pronto M50, the Pronto M51 the Pronto M61 and more. The Invacare Pronto series is well known for its durability. One nice thing about choosing an Invacare for your power mobility needs is that you will have nearly 15,000 independent medical equipment suppliers throughout the company that can assist you if you need to order parts or accessories.

The third most common brand name is Hoveround. Through its branding efforts, the company has made the name Hoveround synonymous with powered mobility equipment. Some people refer to electric wheelchairs as Hoverounds regardless of the brand. It is similar to how people often refer to tissue paper as Kleenex or soda pop as Coke.

Hoveround chairs are only available through the Hoveround Corporation. Although the company offers outstanding customer service and is one of the largest mobility providers in the United States, it can sometimes be difficult to get parts or accessories since you have to order direct.


Related Tags: electric wheelchair, power wheelchair, motorized wheelchair, handicapped scooter

Jackie Jones runs the informative Medicare and Medicaid Center. Do you have questions about a Medicaid enrollment, Medicare enrollment or some other government insurance question? Visit Medicare-Medicaid.com today for the answers!

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