What is the difference between a push wheelchair and an active wheelchair?

At first glance, the two types of wheelchair are almost indistinguishable. Both are foldable wheelchairs, but they have different purposes: A push wheelchair is a “conventional” foldable wheelchair that is equipped with push handles on the backrest and is used for the passive transportation of a patient.

The folding wheelchair (although handles are often provided on the wheels) is not designed to allow the patient to move the wheelchair over long distances. In contrast to a push wheelchair, “active wheelchairs” are much lighter and more ergonomically designed to enable active driving (self-propelled) using the patient’s own arm strength.