{"id":36245,"date":"2021-09-20T11:37:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T03:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/?p=36245"},"modified":"2023-03-15T12:12:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T04:12:17","slug":"karmas-innovation-power-functions-in-karma-wheelchairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/2021\/09\/karmas-innovation-power-functions-in-karma-wheelchairs\/","title":{"rendered":"KARMA\u2019s Innovation; Power Functions in KARMA Wheelchairs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As part of the latest series of KARMA blogs, we are going to be speaking with Eric van Olst, Chief Innovations Officer at KARMA, to get a better understanding of the the processes and considerations that go into every aspect of making our chairs. From the design and testing, right through to the features and battery life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We start today with an interview about the importance of the power functions of the <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><a style=\"color: #008080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/product_cate-2\/power-wheelchair\/#tab_top-line\">KARMA Evo chairs<\/a><\/span>, the features that enable our KARMA chairs to go from laying flat all the way to standing.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"row align-center\"  id=\"row-436808081\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-697013852\" class=\"col medium-7 small-12 large-7\"  >\n\t\t<div class=\"col-inner text-center\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_1257658044\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Eric-Pic-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Eric-Pic-1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Eric-Pic-1-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_1257658044 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 95%;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eric van Olst, Chief Innovations Officer at KARMA<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #34495e;\"><b>Why are the power functions so important?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A human is not designed to stay in a position for a long time, so we tend to move to keep our body fit and well conditioned. The average person sits still for around 30 seconds in a chair. Then he\/she needs to move in some way or another. Someone with a disability might not have the ability to move by themselves, so the seat of a wheelchair moves to aid the function of the body.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The backrest recline, leg rest adjustment and seat tilt help to keep a comfortable seating position and provide the user with good support. A seat tilt can be useful in other situations, such as driving on curbs or down slopes. By tilting the seat, the seating position provides more stability. This could be important when driving downhill, where the wheelchair would be leaning forward, the user can compensate for that negative seat angle by using the seat tilt.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A seat lift can give you more freedom of movement. So it adds a third dimension to the horizontal movements, it enables the user to lower or raise themselves in the vertical position. This can be helpful when shopping in the supermarket, or with friends at the pub, &#8211; ensuring the user can be at eye level with their friends. At home it can help when looking to transfer from the chair into a bed or other seat, by positioning the chair at the same height as the other surface.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"row align-center\"  id=\"row-1653069216\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-1779480229\" class=\"col medium-9 small-12 large-9\"  >\n\t\t<div class=\"col-inner text-center\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_342812133\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/PowerFunction_4K_002-1-1024x576-1.gif\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_342812133 {\n  width: 100%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/featured_item\/evo-alt\/\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>EVO Altus<\/strong><\/span><\/a> standing power wheelchair has three different ways to stand up: sit-to-stand, recline-to-stand, and lie-to-stand.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #34495e;\"><b>How do you make the decision as to what movements and functionality to put into the chairs&#8217; mechanisms?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>It all depends on the demands of the user.<\/strong> We always think in a \u201cLego\u201d mindset. We create a \u201cbrick\u201d which can be added or left out. So that way, we are able to add functionality when required by the user. Another factor is of course budget. The more budget you are able to spend, the more functionality you can put into the wheelchair. A backrest recline which has a range of 35 degrees angle often does the job for all, but sometimes, if you need to lay down, 90 degrees of shear recline is required. That movement is technically more advanced and therefore can be more expensive.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #34495e;\"><b>Have the power functions changed over the years?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the early days it was just a simple motor which moved a part of the wheelchair along a point of rotation. Nowadays, we get feedback on each power function. It tells the electronics what the position of each seat function is. In some cases, we can even store that position as being the starting point or endpoint, so we are able to make it more \u201cintelligent\u201d. Some power functions also have biomechanical movement or added shear reduction, for example when you recline the backrest of a Lectus seat, the backrest stays in the right position to the user&#8217;s backrest. There is hardly any shear.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #34495e;\"><b>What are the key features of the KARMA power functions?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For our higher-end <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/featured_item\/evo-lts-lr\/\">Lectus LR<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/featured_item\/evo-alt\/\"><strong>Altus<\/strong><\/a> chairs, we have biomechanical leg rests with feedback mechanisms and memory. On the Altus chair we think we have the smoothest standing curve on the market. It moves like it\u2019s one curve, smooth and relatively fast.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"row\"  id=\"row-1808780651\">\n\n\t<div id=\"col-328763841\" class=\"col small-12 large-12\"  >\n\t\t<div class=\"col-inner text-center\"  >\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\" id=\"image_725784320\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"img-inner dark\" >\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/homepage_4-1024x607-1-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/homepage_4-1024x607-1-1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/homepage_4-1024x607-1-1-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<style>\n#image_725784320 {\n  width: 73%;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #34495e;\"><b>Is there anything that is currently difficult to accommodate for what you are working on? What more could we look to do?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008f87;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are constantly working on new technologies to improve the product being even more user friendly and service friendly. New computer and internet technology will help us there.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>You can check out the full range of KARMA wheelchairs and find out more about our unique power functions on the <span style=\"color: #008080;\"><a style=\"color: #008080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/\">KARMA website.<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>Keep Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n\n  \n    <div class=\"row large-columns-3 medium-columns- small-columns-1 slider row-slider slider-nav-reveal slider-nav-push\"  data-flickity-options='{\"imagesLoaded\": true, \"groupCells\": \"100%\", \"dragThreshold\" : 5, \"cellAlign\": \"left\",\"wrapAround\": true,\"prevNextButtons\": true,\"percentPosition\": true,\"pageDots\": false, \"rightToLeft\": false, \"autoPlay\" : false}'>\n\n  \t\t<div class=\"col post-item\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/2021\/10\/karmas-innovation-batteries-karma-wheelchairs\/\" class=\"plain\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box box-bounce box-text-bottom box-blog-post has-hover\">\n            \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-image\" >\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-cover\" style=\"padding-top:54%;\">\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-26-300x180.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-26-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-26.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n          \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text text-left is-small\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text-inner blog-post-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5 class=\"post-title is-large \">KARMA\u2019s Innovation; Batteries and Range in KARMA Wheelchairs<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"is-divider\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"col post-item\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/2021\/10\/karmas-innovation-appearance-is-just-as-important-as-function\/\" class=\"plain\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box box-bounce box-text-bottom box-blog-post has-hover\">\n            \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-image\" >\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-cover\" style=\"padding-top:54%;\">\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-25-300x180.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-25-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Blog-Posts-25.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n          \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text text-left is-small\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text-inner blog-post-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5 class=\"post-title is-large \">KARMA\u2019s Innovation; Appearance Is Just As Important as Function<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"is-divider\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"col post-item\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-inner\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/2021\/09\/karmas-innovation-testing-and-reliability-of-karma-wheelchairs\/\" class=\"plain\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box box-bounce box-text-bottom box-blog-post has-hover\">\n            \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-image\" >\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-cover\" style=\"padding-top:54%;\">\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Blog-Posts-20-300x180.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Blog-Posts-20-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Blog-Posts-20.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n          \t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text text-left is-small\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"box-text-inner blog-post-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h5 class=\"post-title is-large \">KARMA\u2019s Innovation; Testing and Reliability of KARMA Wheelchairs<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"is-divider\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As part of the latest series of KARMA blogs, we are going to be speaking with Eric van Olst, Chief Innovations Officer at KARMA, to get a better understanding of the the processes and considerations that go into every aspect of making our chairs. From the design and testing, right through to the features and [&#8230;]\n","protected":false},"author":52647,"featured_media":46347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538,581],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36245"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46388,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36245\/revisions\/46388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmamedical.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}