CYBATHLON 2024
As part of this project, Dr. Jaimie Borisoff and team will be competing in the prestigious CYBATHLON in Zurich Switzerland.
As wheelchair designs become more innovative and sophisticated, it is important that the reliability of their safety and performance be evaluated. It is also clear that new capabilities need to be developed to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
New wheelchair technologies have been created to overcome some of the serious drawbacks of existing mobility products. These include wheelchairs with robotic skills like stair-climbing, as well as hybrid-manual wheelchairs with ebike-like power-assist units that can be attached to the wheelchair when desired. The funding will allow Dr. Borisoff and his team to evaluate the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of these innovative new wheelchairs. The work will guide clinicians and consumers in how they select and use these new products, as well as provide evidence to justify their purchase by various funding authorities.
Dr. Borisoff and his team will also develop new hybrid-manual wheelchairs with expanded features and capabilities. These new features will allow users to navigate more difficult places like off-road trails and snowy terrain, and tackle more difficult obstacles. These systems will be tested in several ways, including at the international Cybathlon Powered Wheelchair Race. The long-term goal is to create and commercialize hybrid-manual wheelchair products that can empower people with disabilities.
A partnership with the University of Manitoba will test the existing and newly created devices in snow and other winter conditions. This project has been awarded funding by the Canada Foundation for Innovation Innovation Fund: Advanced Mobility Devices to Expand Wheelchair Capabilities for Increased Community Participation. The teams are also interested in how these new technologies could improve wheelchair mobility in rural and northern settings.