Page 17 - Mobility Management, May/June 2022

uneven terrain, truncated domes, or sidewalks of an urban environment, the suspension’s a big deal. If it allows you to climb and go crazy places, great, all the better. But for function, comfort, reducing tone, and things like that, clinically, it’s a huge need. It always will be.”
A robust suspension helps Leclair to drive with a standard joystick despite the varied terrains he navigates. “He’s a quadriplegic and he uses the joystick,” Peterson said. “If you look at the videos we have of him online, he’s outdoors. He’s in mud. He’s on uneven terrain. He’s on trails, so a jostle can also mean the loss of his control, too.
“I think the only modification he has is a U-shaped goal post [as the joystick handle]. That’s the only thing he has to help him keep his hand or his gloved hand on that joystick. Other than that, it’s pretty standard stuff.”
The suspension on Leclair’s chair, in addition to handling rugged terrain, also keeps him optimally positioned, Peterson added. “Our ATPs and clinicians go to great lengths to get someone positioned correctly, where they’re going to be the most functional. They’re going to be the safest in terms of skin integrity. They’re going to be best served by remaining in that position, but that doesn’t mean they should have to only drive over level floors. They should be able to go where they’ve got to
go or do what they’ve got to do. And suspension can be a huge part of maintaining that position we work so hard to achieve.”
When asked what factors are most important to power chair riders, Peterson said, “I think if you were to talk to 10 consumers, you might get eight different answers. Just like we all have different tastes and needs in our consumer products, a lot of chairs develop brand loyalty because they work, because they’re reliable, because someone is used to the chair. They have a great outcome, so they want to go back to that chair.
“For a lot of people who are going into their first chair, it’s curb appeal, pure aesthetics. Sometimes they have to like the way it looks for them to get into it and understand or appreciate what it can do for them functionally. But I think in this day and age, what I hear is comfort and absolutely, durability. I think especially with the pandemic and how it changed people’s ability to get repairs done as quickly as they used to, someone wants a system that’s going to work. They don’t want to be bed or chair confined. So durability and reliability are a huge deal.”
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MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | MAY-JUNE 2022 17 9/16/21 11:41 AM