What are wheelchair propulsion assist devices?

Author: Sharon Jang | Reviewer: Jaimie Borisoff | Published: 15 May 2020 | Updated: ~

An example of a front-mounted propulsion assist device.¹

Propulsion assist devices are pieces of equipment that can be attached to a manual wheelchair to facilitate the ease of using a wheelchair, or expand the capabilities of a manual wheelchair. These devices generally work by reducing the amount of effort required by the user to move their wheelchair. Use of these devices may help individuals go up hills, reduce the amount of force required to start moving the wheelchair, or travel over difficult terrain such as grass. Propulsion assist devices are normally added onto the front or back of the chair frame, but also sometimes replace the rear wheels. These devices can be further split up into two categories: powered and non-powered.

As technology is rapidly progressing, novel devices are being frequently released. The development of multiple devices to fill a niche market has resulted in some products becoming unavailable in certain areas, or leaving the market altogether. The quick changes and developments in this area make conducting research on propulsion assist devices difficult. Currently, there is limited research on the use of propulsion assist devices for manual wheelchair users and most of the research is focussed on the devices that replace the rear wheels.