What types of power wheelchairs are there?

Author: Sharon Jang | Reviewer: Emma M. Smith | Published: 4 March 2020 | Updated: ~

Types of power wheelchairs are described by the base. The base is the bottom portion of a power wheelchair that houses the motors, batteries, drive wheels, casters and electronics. The seating system sits on top of this base. The base is classified according to the drive wheel location relative to the system’s center of gravity. The three classifications of power wheelchairs are rear-wheel drive, mid-wheel drive, or front-wheel drive, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.

Rear-Wheel Drive.²

Rear-wheel drive wheelchairs have drive wheels located behind the user’s center of gravity, with casters in front. Benefits of rear-wheel drive wheelchairs include increased stability when travelling at higher speeds. However, rear-wheel drive wheelchairs are the most likely to tip backwards when going uphill, and have a large turning radius which may make it difficult to maneuver in indoor or tight spaces.

Mid-wheel drive wheelchairs have drive wheels located right below the user’s center of gravity, with caster wheels both in front and behind the drive wheels (Image 3). Benefits of a mid-wheel drive wheelchairs include:

Mid-wheel drive power wheelchair with tilt-in space capability.³

• Having the smallest turning radius, thus making them most effective for indoor mobility
• Being highly sensitive to change in direction
• Being the most stable when going up hills and uneven ground
• Given that mid-wheel drive wheelchairs have a total of 6 wheels as opposed to 4, the user may experience a bumpier ride; however, this can be offset with good quality suspensions. Additionally, mid-wheel drive wheelchairs are not the most efficient at going over uneven ground or soft terrain – users may get stuck when going over these surfaces.

Front-wheel drive power wheelchair with recline capability.⁴

Front-wheel drive wheelchairs have the drive wheels located in the front of the chair, with caster wheels behind (Figure 4). Some benefits of this type of wheelchair include:

• Being the most stable type of wheelchair when going on uneven terrain and up hills
• Being the best at going over obstacles
• Having the ability to turn around tight corners well
• Allowing the user to pull up close to surfaces as the footplate is closer to the wheelchair since there are no casters in the way

Some drawbacks to front-wheel drive wheelchair include increased difficulty turning in small spaces due to a long back end, less stability when going at high speeds (may tend to fishtail, making it hard to drive in a straight line).