Welcome to Dr. Sawatzky’s Research Lab Website (in progress)
at ICORD, an inter-disciplinary research facility dedicated to spinal cord injury, in Vancouver, Canada.
The research in my program targets the biomechanics and functional outcomes of mobility for those with spina bifida or a spinal cord injury. The research we do is applied and hopefully the knowledge put into practice to reduce the amount of pain and fatigue related to manual wheelchair propulsion or crutch gait in adults and children.
We are housed in a state of the art lab with three Smartwheels 22″, 24′ and 25″ (a force sensing wheel to measure kinetics during wheeling), a Delsys electromyography system, 3 Burtec force plates,a wheelchair treadmill, a wheelchair skills testing lab, Optotrak motion capture and a Parvo TrueOne Metabolic Cart
Wheelchair History presentation (Brisbane, Australia Mar 2,2011)
| Being able to wheel efficient without a huge amount of effort is critical to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In our lab we explore the biomechanical and physiological effects of wheeling in a variety of wheelchair set ups. Understanding how various designs and set ups can help us set guidelines to use for clinical recommendations. | Finding alternative methods beyond a standard manual or power wheelchair may be what it takes to keeping one’s independence and quality of life. The Segway has been explored in the lab looking at what one needs in terms of function to operate one, what are the functional and social benefits and what are the physiological benefits. | Spasticity is a big challenge for people with spinal cord injuries. Using alternative mobility such as the Segway may be one way. Using the Segway three times a week reduced the degree of spasticity with spinal cord injury experienced. | Understanding the interactions of wheelchair design |