Use of the INDEPENDENCE 3000 IBOT™ transporter at home and in the community: A case report

The INDEPENDENCE™ 3000 IBOT™ Transporter (IBOT), as an electronically stabilized mobility device for people with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to gain experience with the IBOT™ at home and in the community using an expert wheelchair user, who used the device as his primary mobility device for 1 week. This case report is based upon observations by trained clinicians, and a diary recorded by the primary author a male manual wheelchair user with traumatic spinal cord injury at the T7/8 level. The subject was 41 years of age and 21 years post SCI at the time of the study. The participant was employed and lived in a ranch style accessible home. The subject used the devices to perform a variety of activities including holding eye-level discussions with colleagues and shopping by balancing on two wheels, going up and down steep ramps, traversing outdoor surfaces (e.g., grass, dirt trails) and climbing curbs. The balance and four-wheel drive functions were helpful and worked well. The IBOT was somewhat difficult to control in standard function. The seat height was too high for most tables and desks encountered, and transfers were notably more difficult than with other wheelchairs. It was difficult to use the IBOT in the bathroom, and the subject preferred to use his personal wheelchairs for transfers into the shower. The IBOT was a functional mobility device, its greatest strengths are outdoors and in circumstances where there is space to use balance function.