Page 38 - Mobility Management, July/August 2021

THE CHALLENGE
Safety in the power wheelchair industry today is stuck in the past. The only real safety technology for falls and collisions is a seatbelt. Many users, we have talked to, choose not to use the seatbelt so that they can better move away from their chair when it tips.
Based on our testing, the possibility for injury to a user in both collision and tip events can be extreme without LUCI.2 In a head-on collision with a wall, a power wheelchair user experienced maximum forces in the femur that exceeded the limits prescribed in federal motor vehicle safety standards. Had these results for lower extremity injury been measured
in a motor vehicle, that car would not be allowed to be sold in the United States. Similarly, in a tip-
OUR MISSION
At LUCI we exist to reimagine mobility.
Our mission is to provide security, stability, and connectivity for power wheelchair users.
LUCI may be new and small, but we believe in leading. To this end we’ve already released Judging Smart1, a framework for thinking about what “smart” should mean in power mobility products. Now, leading requires that we release this report outlining our approach to ensuring safety for LUCI and wheelchair users everywhere.
Riders’ capabilities, needs, wants and desires vary widely, and all are important to us. We are taking on the challenge of creating a new norm for the industry. And we challenge others in the power mobility industry to join us in detailing their dedication to safety as smart technologies inevitably become the future of powered mobility.
over event where a power wheelchair drove off a curb, the angular velocities seen on the user’s head corresponded to a significant (30%) risk of mild to severe concussion including loss of consciousness for up to six hours. The fact is that...
A wheelchair, without LUCI, has a high likelihood of the collision and tipping hazards that LUCI mitigates.
No technology can avoid all accidents and dangerous situations; however, LUCI believes that we can do better as an industry by using modern technology to reduce the risk of injury to wheelchair users.
1https://luci.com/smart/ 2https://luci.com/2020/09/power-wheelchair-qa-with-dr-matt-maltese-a-leading-expert-in-crashing-things/