Product Premiere

A Chair for All Seasons

The Q6 Edge aims to address a wide range of Group 3 mobility patients with a versatile, yet small power base.

• By David Kopf
• Oct 01, 2010

Group 3 power mobility represents a wide variety of patient groups with an equally diverse range of seating, positioning and options needs from their chairs. This has resulted in the development of an equally wide array of Group 3 powerchairs, which isn’t necessarily the optimal solution.

A larger number of chairs means a larger number of different designs and parts that mobility providers must manage in order to keep their patients’ chairs properly outfitted and maintained. The Quantum Rehab division of Pride Mobility Products has sought to change that landscape via its new Q6 Edge, says Jay Brislin, MSPT, the general manager of Quantum Rehab Applications & Field Product Development.

Meeting Multiple Needs

The inspiration for the new Group 3 chair came from a lot of feedback Quantum received from providers, therapists and patients, Brislin says. Essentially, they wanted a small power base that fit into the Group 3 powerchair category while offering a wide range of capabilities.

“They wanted a chair that had a small footprint, which is what the industry has become used to for rehab powerchairs, but still allows for all the options, accessories, seating capabilities that maybe some other small footprint Group 3 chairs don’t offer,” he explains. “From that point it really became a vision of what can we do to make it a better Group 3 chair than we’ve ever made before. What we could do from a performance standpoint, a stability standpoint, and a quality standpoint, and it really took off from there.”

However, making good on that vision proved a demanding challenge. For instance, with quality, Brislin says the first thing Quantum did from an engineering standpoint was to eliminate any unnecessary cabling or parts.

“The whole thing with quality is the more parts and components you have the more room there is for failure,” he explains. “So to try and keep things simple and easily serviceable was a huge component from a quality standpoint.”

For example, the Q6 Edge’s front and rear castors are interchangeable, as are their assemblies. (This is a feature of other Quantum chairs, as well.) Also, the company was able to use standard, 5 mph, four-pole motors on the unit, which is not only important in terms of quality and durability, but also important from a low-end torque standpoint, Brislin notes.

To raise that quality bar, Brislin says Quantum leveraged what has turned out to be a continual education over the long haul of the company’s product developments.

“We’ve learned a lot as we’ve gone forward,” he says. “Every year we have better quality results and we continue to learn more and more with our powerchairs, so it’s really about taking all that information we’ve learned over the years and implementing into this power base.”

The Q6 Edge’s usability by wider numbers of patients was also developed from a vision of how Quantum would fit its products into what it sees as the funding future for Group 3 power mobility over the next year or so.

“We try to look ahead as far as we can,” Brislin says. “Funding plays a large part in this. The one thing we wanted to do was try and create a really appropriate chair for a larger percentage of the population in that Group 3 category.”

In order to do that Quantum had to ensure that everything that fit about the chair’s power base fit and was safe and worked correctly. All the different configurations for the various patient populations served by the chair had their individual seating, positioning and accessory needs addressed.

So despite the chairs somewhat “svelte” 24 in.-wide by 35.5 in-long footprint, the Q6 Edge can safely accommodate large seating sizes and pedestal power elevating seats without any customization. This safety element comes from being able to test the chair “through real-life scenarios as well as the requirements that RESNA and other government bodies put out,” Brislin says. “We also make sure that we test our products beyond those requirements,” he adds.

Stability and Safety

Quantum took several steps to ensure stability with a small power base footprint. For starters, all of its seating comes with center of gravity adjustment that lets the provider and therapist to place the patient in an optimal space where the chair performs the best for them. Also, from a power positioning standpoint, the chair will go into a lock out once the user reaches a certain elevation or tilt degree.

Another thing is that the rear beam on the chair is a standard, split suspension beam so that it lets the chair dip a little and take a little more of the movement when it comes to power positioning. Also, Quantum offers an optional beam that is curved and longer for scenarios such as articulating vent trays or larger seating sizes.

Also, Quantum aimed to accomplish low seattofloor heights for all of its seating configurations on the chair, and some of them wound up being quite low thanks to advances such as the TruBalance subframe. So, for example, for a tilt or tilt recline, the lowest seat-to-floor height is 17.25 in. Also, with a pedestal elevation combined with a tilt or tilt-recline, the chair maintains a surprising 18.25 in. seat-to-floor height.

And of course, with a small foot print comes real estate issues. To accommodate features such as pedestal power elevating seats, Quantum developed the chair with additional room in the chassis in order to position the seating between the two batteries without losing the overall room.

“Basically, our engineers looked at the frame on our Q600 and said ‚ÄòOkay, what do we need to do to make the frame of the Q6 Edge more accepting of some of these power seating accessories,’” Brislin says.

In terms of key specs, the chair is designed around a two-motor, four-pole, midwheel six drive train; travels at 5 mph with 6 mph optional; has a 15.5-mile per-charge range; supports up to 300 pounds; has a 20-inch turning radius; comes with Quantum’s ATX Suspension; and comes in a broad spectrum of colors ranging from viper blue to solar yellow. The chair comes with a lifetime limited warranty on the frame; twoyear warranty on the electronics; and 18-month warranty on the drive motors.

Q6 Edge
Quantum Rehab division of Pride Mobility Products Corp.
www.quantumrehab.com
(866) 800-2002

This article originally appeared in the October 2010 issue of HME Business.