Truebalance

The TrueBalance is a wheelchair axle positioning system designed for use by clinicians and suppliers with people with mobility and lower extremity disabilities and spinal cord injury and others who use wheelchairs. It measures the stability of a person's wheelchair when occupied. The system allows a clinician or supplier to optimize the position of the rear axle which helps reduce rolling resistance, improve responsiveness, minimize impact from sidewalk cracks, and ease the ability to traverse cross slopes. The laser indicator attached to the balance tracks measures the "tippiness" of the wheelchair. The occupied wheelchair is rolled onto the tracks and stopped when they are balanced, then the laser pointer is moved to measure the position of the center of each axle from the balance point. The balance tracks are adjustable in width so they can be adapted to any wheelchair size. The tippiness is determined by the weight ratio which uses the caster and rear wheel measurements made with the laser line. A ratio of 0.7 – 0.8 range indicates a stable wheelchair; a ratio of 0.8 – 0.9 range indicates a fairly unstable wheelchair; and a ratio of 0.9 – 1.0 range indicates an unstable wheelchair. The axle adjustment formula determines how a wheelchair’s axle needs to be adjusted based on a desired level of stability. Whether the axle should be moved forward or backward and by how much are based on the axle adjustment result.