Rehabilitation Engineering Design Laboratory

WheelTrak

WheelTrak enables preventative care of wheelchairs and reduces frequent wheelchair breakdowns and corresponding health consequences experienced by wheelchair users every year.

WheelTrak App

The WheelTrak app provides regular notifications and delivers maintenance content to wheelchair users based on how and where wheelchairs are used.

WheelTrak Sensor

The sensor tracks wheelchair usage and transmits the data to a secure cloud 

Learn More About WheelTrak

Funding

Current Funding:

  • Project: Designing Wheelchair Servicing Intervention By Repair Technicians Based on Real-World Wheelchair Usage Data

    Funding Amount: FY 24 $199,587; FY 25 $ 197,534; FY 26 $ 198,950

    Sponsor: National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR #90IFRE0087)

Past Funding:

  1. Project: Commercialization of WheelTrak

    Funding Amount: $3,000

    Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute (NSF #IIP1734751 subaward)

  2. Project: Development of a smartphone app for wheelchair maintenance

    Dates: 10/01/2019 – 05/31/2020

    Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh Year of Pitt Global Program

  3. Project: Development and Evaluation of a Wheelchair Maintenance Alert Application for Elderly Wheelchair Users

    Funding Amount: $250,000

    Sponsor: Johnson & Johnson Innovation/National Academy of Medicine Healthy Longevity Accelerator Awardee

  4. Project: Development and Community Testing of an Internet of Things Device for Predicting Wheelchair Failures and Guiding Maintenance

    Funding Amount: $149,953

    Sponsor: Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Research Foundation

  5. Project: Development of a Wheelchair Maintenance Alert Application for Elderly Wheelchair Users

    Funding Amount: $75,877

    Sponsor: National Institute of Aging (NIA) (R03 #AG069836)

  6. Project: Characterization of the wheelchair wear index

    Funding Amount: $25,000

    Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (NIH #UL1TR001857 subaward)

Related Publications

1. Boccardi A., Wu F., Pearlman J., & Mhatre A. (2022). Older Wheelchair Users Recommend Age-Friendly Design Improvements to a Wheelchair Maintenance App: Mixed Methods Development Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research: Aging, 5(4):e39301.

doi:10.2196/39301. PMID: 36256830 PMCID: 9627462
 

2. Ruffing J. J., Schmeler M. R., Schein R. M., & Mhatre A. (2022). A cross-sectional descriptive analysis of complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) supplier opinions on the current state of wheelchair repair services. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-6.

doi:10.1080/17483107.2022.2121007. PMID: 36094416

a.       Featured in Research in Focus – National Rehabilitation Information Center.
 

3. James A. M., Pramana G., Schein R. M., Mhatre A., Pearlman J., Macpherson M., & Schmeler M. R. (2022). A descriptive analysis of wheelchair repair registry data. Assistive Technology, 1-9.

doi:10.1080/10400435.2022.2044407. PMID: 35200093

4. Mhatre A., Pearlman J., Schmeler M., Krider B., & Fried J. (2022). Community-based wheelchair caster failures call for improvements in quality and increased frequency of preventative maintenance. Spinal Cord: Nature, 60(1), 58-62.

doi:10.1038/s41393-021-00689-3.

a.       Featured in DIRECTIONS – National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers.

b.     Featured in Research in Focus – National Rehabilitation Information Center.