Options in Electric Wheelchairs


by Milos Pesic - Date: 2007-04-16 - Word Count: 408 Share This!

The invention of the wheelchair has made a great contribution to the lives of handicapped people. Wheelchairs provide mobility to people with restricted movement and because of this they allow disabled people a certain level of independence. There are two types of wheelchairs - the manual and the electric wheelchairs.

A manual wheelchair is propelled by the user by pushing the hand rims that are round steel tubes outside the wheels. Electric wheelchairs are heavier than manual wheelchairs because their frame needs to be strong and stable to hold the motor and battery.

The sophistication level of electric wheelchairs also varies extensively from a simple use of standard batteries with joy-stick controllers to microprocessor, robotic circuitry that allows the wheelchair to elevate on two wheels. Due to different sophistication levels of electric wheelchairs, their price varies widely, too. A manual wheelchair normally cost around $2000 to a whopping $30,000.

Currently, the most advanced and most sophisticated among electric wheelchairs is the iBOT. The iBOT wheelchair's mobility mechanism can climb stairs, slide along gravel and can even elevate the chair for reaching high shelves. The mobility system can also function on either four wheels or two wheels making sure that the user is stabilized by self adjusting to balance the changes in the weight.

The higher the level of sophistication offered by the wheelchair, the costly it gets. To most users of electric wheelchairs, the average cost of the wheelchair is $7,000. When you plan on purchasing an electric wheelchair, be sure to pick a trustworthy brand that comes from a licensed dealer so you can be sure that you will receive full coverage if in case the wheelchair would require servicing. It is also not advisable to purchase used electric wheelchairs because they might have damages like broken frames, faulty motors and worn-out batteries.

There are different ways of propelling electric wheelchairs and they are the following:

• Rear-wheel drive wheelchairs

This is the most common method of drive for an electric wheelchair. The drive is fast but turning is bit difficult.

• Mid-Wheel Drive Wheelchairs

Turning is very convenient and very efficient although sudden starting and stopping can be a bit unstable.

• Mid Wheel Drive Wheelchairs

The drive is slow but the turning capability is good.

As you choose among many options of electric wheelchairs, take your time to shop around and compare each unit. You can also ask for product information from dealers in order for you to know more details to help you in your purchasing decision.


Related Tags: wheelchair, wheel chair, electric wheelchair, chair wheel, electric wheel chair, wheel chair ramp

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Forex Trading and runs a highly popular and comprehensive Forex Trading web site. For more articles and resources on Forex related topics, online forex trading, trading tips, forex software and much more visit his site at:

=>http://forex.need-to-know.net/

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