National foreword

This Published Document reproduces verbatim ISO/TR 13570:2001.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee CH/40, Sanitary chairs and wheelchairs, which has the responsibility to:

aid enquirers to understand the text;
present to the responsible international/European committee any enquiries on the interpretation, or proposals for change, and keep the UK interests informed;
monitor related international and European developments and promulgate them in the UK.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

Cross-references

The British Standards which implement international publications referred to in this document may be found in the BSI Standards Catalogue under the section entitled "International Standards Correspondence Index", or by using the "Find" facility of the BSI Standards Electronic Catalogue.

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.

In exceptional circumstances, when a technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard ("state of the art", for example), it may decide by a simple majority vote of its participating members to publish a Technical Report. A Technical Report is entirely informative in nature and does not have to be reviewed until the data it provides are considered to be no longer valid or useful.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this Technical Report may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO/TR 13570, was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 173, Technical systems and aids for disabled or handicapped persons, Subcommittee SC 1, Wheelchairs.

This Technical Report is based on the book:

A Guide to Wheelchair Selection: How to Use the ANSI/RESNA Wheelchair Standards to Buy a Wheelchair

written by Peter Axelson, Jean Minkel and Denise Chesney, published in 1994 by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Washington, DC, USA.

1 Scope

The purpose of this Technical Report is to explain how you can use the International Standards on wheelchairs to select your next wheelchair. The actual standards are very technical and, at first glance, you may not understand how this information will help you select a wheelchair or scooter. This Technical Report is meant to help you understand the purpose for and content of International Standards on wheelchairs.

This Technical Report is divided into six clauses.

How to use this Technical Report.
Standardized testing and information disclosure: Provides background information on standardized testing of wheelchairs. Discusses how chairs are tested and how information is disclosed.
General considerations: Discusses general considerations related to choosing a powered or manual wheelchair.
Incorporating personal body characteristics: Relates your physical characteristics to the fit of a chair, either manual or powered.
Manual wheelchairs: Discusses manual wheelchair test procedures.
Powered wheelchairs: Discusses powered wheelchair test procedures; focuses on three- and four-wheeled scooters as well as full-sized powered wheelchairs.

In the manual and powered wheelchair sections, the test procedures are grouped into three categories:

performance,
safety, and
dimensions.

For each test procedure, this Technical Report includes

reasons why you might need this information,
a brief description of the standardized test procedure,
how the results of the test will be disclosed in the manufacturer's technical product literature, and
how to interpret the results of the test for your own situation.

2 How to use this Technical Report

3 Standardized testing and information disclosure

3.1 General

3.2 Background on tests and standards

3.3 Standards increase your buying power

3.4 More about International Standards

3.5 How chairs are tested

3.6 How information is disclosed

4 General considerations

4.1 Manual versus powered wheelchairs

4.2 Rigid versus folding manual wheelchairs

4.3 Direct-drive versus belt-drive powered wheelchairs

4.4 Cost

5 Incorporating personal body characteristics

5.1 Body size

5.2 Seating

5.3 Joint flexibility

5.4 Propulsion skill

6 Manual wheelchairs

6.1 Performance

6.2 Safety

6.3 Dimensions

7 Powered wheelchairs

7.1 Performance

7.2 Safety

7.3 Dimensions

Bibliography

PD ISO/TR 13570:2001

Guidelines for the application of the ISO 7176 series on wheelchairs

Current

Published:

15 Aug 2001