Clinical trial NCT03759769: The McGill Wheelchair Simulator
Official title: The McGill Immersive Wheelchair (miWe) Simulator for the Clinical Assessment and At-home Training of Powered Wheelchair Driving Skills
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Wheelchair (Powered) Colliding With Stationary Object
Keywords: power wheelchair
virtual reality
skills
Lead sponsor: McGill University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal
First posted: 2018-11-30
Enrollment: 44
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

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.

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)

Primary outcomes:
measure: change in Wheelchair Skills Test (WST)
timeFrame: 2 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: change in wheelchair confidence (WheelCon)
timeFrame: 2 weeks
measure: change in appreciation of assistive technology (ATOP/M)
timeFrame: 2 weeks
measure: change in life-space mobility (LSA)
timeFrame: 2 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Laval
country: Canada
facility: Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital
state: Quebec
Study officials:
affiliation: McGill University
name: Philippe Archambault, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: