Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine postural alignment in children with bilateral spastic
cerebral palsy while driving a powered wheelchair using both a unilateral
joystick and an innovative bimanual interface. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SUBJECTS: A total of 20 children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (mean age
9.0 years (standard deviation 2.1); 11 with diplegia, 9 with quadriplegia) and 14
typically developing children (mean age 7.7 years (standard deviation 2.9)).
METHODS: All children drove the powered wheelchair in both the unilateral and
bimanual conditions. The Seated Postural Control Measure quantified the postural
alignment of subjects while driving the powered wheelchair. Statistical analysis
was carried out using repeated measures analysis of variance and Spearman's rank
correlation coefficient. RESULTS: As expected, typically developing children had
better postural alignment in both driving conditions than children with cerebral
palsy. Children with cerebral palsy demonstrated more symmetrical postural
alignment while using the bimanual interface than when using the unilateral
joystick. In addition, the severity of cerebral palsy correlated moderately with
postural symmetry in both conditions. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that this
innovative bimanual interface might be beneficial for promoting symmetrical
postural alignment in some children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy.

Langue : ANGLAIS