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Enhancing your lifestyle each day at work, home and everywhere in between would be a little easier if your manual wheelchair could have the occasional power boost. Now you can, with the addition of a power assist device to your existing or new fixed or folding frame wheelchair. Experience the benefits of reducing your energy expenditure and overall frequency of upper limb movements during manual propulsion.

At Astris PME, we enjoy improving lives by providing a broad range of power assist options for you to choose from. With many options available though, how do you choose the best option for you? By collaborating with you, your therapist, and our seasoned product specialists, we can form a great team to come up with the most suitable solution for your specific requirements. Some factors that need to be considered prior to settling on your preferred power assist unit:

• Your needs and physical capacity.

• Environments you would like to access.

• Activities you typically participate in.

• Other resources available to you; for example, assistance in transferring the wheelchair and power assist to and from a vehicle.

Managing a power assist option on your wheelchair also requires skills relating to memory, perceptual abilities and cognitive skills. Goals for providing a device can be diverse and highly individual so it would be beneficial to have a discussion with your therapist about whether a power assist option would be suitable, and to help guide the process of trialling the appropriate option.

There are numerous benefits to using power assist devices, including:

• Reducing stress and strain on the upper limbs – shoulders and wrists.

• Reducing demands on the heart and respiratory functions.

• Making participation and access easier every day.

• Permitting access to challenging environments.

• Facilitating improved capacity to manage your workday to remain employed.

• Enabling storage into a standard car boot without the need to invest in the purchase of larger vehicles and additional costs associated with vehicle modifications.

• Reducing the need for home modifications to accommodate larger power chairs.

View our comprehensive range of Power Assists here

Make an appointment with one of our Specialist Consultants to find out which power assist option is right for you. If you are looking for any support in this area or keen to know more, reach out to us at clients@astris-pme.com.au or 1300 131 884.