Rethinking Wheelchair Design Through Collaboration
We’re excited to share a new case study, published in Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, that highlights how our collaboration with NHS Wales, V-Trak (part of international wheelchair manufacturer Permobil), and Swansea Bay University Health Board is helping to reshape thinking around standards in assistive technology.
Together, we set out to answer a simple but powerful question: Do the devices we design for wheelchair users truly reflect the forces they experience in everyday life? What we discovered was both surprising and significant.
Led by Benjamin Aveyard from Swansea Bay University Health Board’s Rehabilitation Engineering Unit, the team used custom-built sensors and low-cost electronics to collect real-world force data from a wheelchair user with athetoid cerebral palsy—a condition involving strong, involuntary movements. The data revealed that the forces exerted on the user’s headrest and backrest were significantly higher and more frequent than those used in standardised testing.
When these real-world forces were applied to a custom-designed backrest, it failed—despite having passed international ISO tests.
“This isn’t just about numbers,” said Benjamin. “It’s about designing for real people, with real needs. Standards are important, but they don’t always tell the full story.”
The implications are far-reaching. By developing affordable, portable sensors and testing methods that reflect actual user experience, we’re helping to pave the way for more personalised, safer, and more effective wheelchair components.
As Professor Dominic Eggbeer, our healthcare design specialist at PDR, explained: “To create effective assistive technology, we need to understand how people actually use these devices—not just how we expect them to.”
This work was carried out as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between V-Trak and PDR, and it highlights the power of local innovation and cross-sector collaboration. It also sends a clear message to designers and manufacturers: when it comes to assistive technology, one size does not fit all.
We see this research as a foundation for advancing the design and manufacture of bespoke wheelchair components and assistive technologies. By grounding our approach in real-world data, we aim to support the creation of solutions that are technically robust and better aligned with the diverse and specific needs of individual users. Ultimately, our shared goal is to help make high-performance healthcare products more responsive, inclusive, and effective in everyday use.
Want to learn more?
Explore the full case study Bridging the gap: from standards to reality in wheelchair headrest-backrest design: a case study, or get in touch to discuss working in collaboration with us.