The McGill Wheelchair Simulator

NCT ID: NCT03759769

Last Updated: 2018-11-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 44 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-11-27
• Study Completion Date: 2016-05-30

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a wheelchair simulator in the training of power wheelchair driving skills. Practice with the simulator takes place at home.

Detailed Description

Mobility impairment is a major form of disability affecting Canadians of all ages. In Canada, an estimated 0.6% of the general population need a wheelchair for mobility, while 20-30% of these require a powered wheelchair (PW). Powered mobility is instrumental in facilitating independence, promoting participation in meaningful life activities, and in decreasing the burden on caregivers. Recovering mobility through the use of a PW may result in improvements at the level of work, leisure and self-care. But because of their weight and speed, training is required, as for any other vehicle. Further, PWs have an inherent risk of causing injuries to the user or to bystanders, as well as damage to the environment. Therefore, assessment and training are critical, so that participants may learn how to safely and efficiently handle their PW, e.g., to avoid tips and falls, for maneuvering in tight spaces and to avoid collisions with furniture or bystanders. However, assessment and training in navigating crowded spaces or in complex route finding are often difficult to achieve in the clinic, due to lack of space or concerns for safety. There is no standardized training process and in practice, there is often little time for training during the PW delivery process. Further, both clinicians and PW users agree that the amount of training provided to new PW drivers is insufficient. To address these issues, team members have initiated work related to the development of McGill Immersive Wheelchair (miWe) simulator version 1.0. This computer software can be run in the clinic or at home, and has the potential to provide a robust platform for the assessment and training of complex PW driving skills.

The objectives are: 1) to identify power wheelchair tasks that are challenging and/or unsafe and are likely to be encountered by power wheelchair users. Phase 2) To create simulator maps representing the tasks determined to be most challenging to users as per Phase 1. 3a) To evaluate, in new PW users, the feasibility and acceptability of power wheelchair training offered in a home-based simulator program that incorporates challenging tasks developed in Phase 2. 3b) To determine the preliminary comparative effectiveness of power wheelchair training using conventional training + a home-based simulator program VERSUS conventional training + home-based joystick and visuo-spatial training program on: driving skills (technical knowledge about wheelchair maneuvering and completion of driving tasks); driving performance (how the task is performed); and driving confidence.

Conditions

Wheelchair (Powered) Colliding With Stationary Object

Keywords

power wheelchair; virtual reality; skills

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

simulator

Practice at home all activities of the wheelchair simulator, at least 20 minute per session, at least one session every second day

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Wheelchair simulator

Intervention Type: OTHER

Computer application providing 3D first person view of a wheelchair, with six different activities: street crossing, entering an elevator, entering an adapted van, bathroom, shopping mall and supermarket

control

Practice on a computer video game, at least 20 minute per session, at least one session every second day

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Video game

Intervention Type: OTHER

'Kart' driving video game

Interventions

Wheelchair simulator

Computer application providing 3D first person view of a wheelchair, with six different activities: street crossing, entering an elevator, entering an adapted van, bathroom, shopping mall and supermarket

Intervention Type: OTHER

Video game

'Kart' driving video game

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 1) participants are between 18 and 65 years of age; 2) have received their first PW within the last 3 months; 3) are living at home or in a long-term care facility (i.e., not currently hospitalized); 4) drive their PW with a hand-controlled joystick; 5) are able to follow directions in either French or English as determined by their medical chart from the rehabilitation center; 6) have no significant visual impairments not corrected by eyewear; and 7) show sufficient cognition to participate in training (Mini-mental State Exam>25).

Exclusion Criteria

• 1) participants have baseline WST score greater than 85; 2) they have unstable medical conditions as determined by their medical chart (e.g. angina, seizures that may be exacerbated by the simulator)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

McGill University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Philippe Archambault

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Philippe Archambault, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

McGill University

Locations

Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital

Laval, Quebec, Canada

Countries

Canada

References

Faure C, Routhier F, Lettre J, Choukou MA, Archambault PS. Effectiveness of the miWe Simulator Training on Powered Wheelchair-driving Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2023 Sep;104(9):1371-1377. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.04.022. Epub 2023 May 19.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 37209934 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

275323

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id