Abstract
We evaluated the pressure distribution of the cushions and the ride comfort using the vibrations of head and seat frame when driving a powered wheelchair respectively. We measured the pressure distribution of 5 cushions and vertical direction accelerations of person's head and seat frame when driving a powered wheelchair on flat floor and two kinds of textured blocks. In order to evaluate the pressure distribution we used increase rate of total area of contact and decreasing rate of peak pressure, and to evaluate the ride comfort we calculated VDV (Vibration Dose Value) of person's head and seat frame and used ratio of VDV of these. Then we evaluated five kinds of cushions using the proposed method. From results, cushions made of water and gel is the best of the five. We quantified the evaluation of cushions and this evaluation is an important indicator when selecting a cushion. This will be of assistance to develop the cushion when driving
