Usage of tilt-in-space, recline, and elevation seating functions in natural environment of wheelchair users.

This study examined the usage of powered seating functions, including tilt-in-space, backrest recline, and seat elevation, among a group of wheelchair users during their typical daily activities. Twelve individuals who used a power wheelchair with seating functions participated in the study. They drove their own wheelchair and used the seating functions as needed in their community environment for about 2 weeks while the seating function usage was recorded with a portable device.

A wheelchair usage monitoring/logging system.

Real life information on wheelchair usage is important for investigating the effectiveness of certain features, evaluate users' performance, and eventually improve the safety and reliability of wheelchairs. The purpose of the study is to develop a wheelchair usage monitoring/logging system that travels with wheelchair users in their daily activity settings and collects data independently. The system consists of a wheel rotation logging module, a GPS logging module, and a seating posture logging module.

In vivo imaging of rapid deformation and strain in an animal model of traumatic brain injury.

In traumatic brain injury (TBI) rapid deformation of brain tissue leads to axonal injury and cell death. In vivo quantification of such fast deformations is extremely difficult, but important for understanding the mechanisms of degeneration post-trauma and for development of numerical models of injury biomechanics. In this paper, strain fields in the brain of the perinatal rat were estimated from data obtained in vivo during rapid indentation.