Although the electric wheelchair has been around since the early 1930s, it didn't come into popular use until some time later. This is because early models of electric wheelchairs were expensive and heavy. Only after technological advances made electric wheelchairs affordable did they become commonplace. Now, they're a great help to disabled people who lack the strength or coordination to use a manual chair.
There are four basic types of electric wheelchairs, also called EPWs. These are based in the type of drive, and are rear wheel driven, center, front, or four wheel driven. Each different style of electric wheelchair handles a little differently than the others. These chairs are also divided according to the type of seat. Some look a lot like the familiar manual wheelchair. Others have a seat that looks more like the bucket seating you'd find in a car.
Electric wheelchairs also run the gamut between small, portable models, some of which can fold up, or be disassembled for storage, to large chairs with a lot of features. These latter type may also be called rehab chairs, since they're usually used by people with significant disabilities.
Like manual wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs come in varieties designed specifically to be used inside, outside, and over difficult terrain. Most users of these chairs have trouble using a standard manual chair because of trouble with their arms, shoulders, or hands, or because they lack motion or coordination that would allow them to use a regular chair. Generally, they also don't have enough leg strength to propel a chair using their feet. If a disabled person has trouble walking, but can use their arms and upper torso well, he or she may have difficulty getting an electric wheelchair prescribed, or convincing insurance to cover one.
Generally electric wheelchairs are controlled by a joystick, located on a controller. These devices allow adjustment of speed and direction. If the wheelchair user suffers from conditions which limit the mobility or coordination of the hands and fingers, other control devices may be used, such as chin controls and scanners controlled by blowing into a tube. These controllers are the most delicate, and generally the most costly part of an electric wheelchair.
In addition to controlling direction and speed of motion, some electric wheelchairs also allow control of powered functions like reclining, tilting, elevating the legs, and raising or lowering the chair's seat. These, like the wheels, are powered by electric motors using four to five amp rechargeable batteries, much like the ones used in the engines of outboard boat motors. Generally, these chairs carry a charger on board, allowing them to be plugged directly into a wall outlet. However, older chairs or portable ones may have a separate charger, into which the batteries must be placed.
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