Stair Chair

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StudentGroup

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Hello all,
We are a student group looking into redesigning the Stair Chair (preferably one with a motor) working with a local FD and EMS team.
We would really appreciate some feedback about:
- Things you like/don't like about your current stair chair?
- Things you would change or add if you could make a new chair?
- What is the max number of flights of stairs you transport a patient on?
- Anything other comments/suggestions
Thank you for your help!
 
StudentGroup said:
Hello all,
We are a student group looking into redesigning the Stair Chair (preferably one with a motor) working with a local FD and EMS team.
We would really appreciate some feedback about:
- Things you like/don't like about your current stair chair?
- Things you would change or add if you could make a new chair?
- What is the max number of flights of stairs you transport a patient on?
- Anything other comments/suggestions
Thank you for your help!
Click to expand...

http://www.ems.stryker.com/detail2.jsp?id=5

I like this one...works well, no motor needed. Seems like one with a motor would not be very practical as you are adding more weight and maybe losing the tracks...two things you dont want to happen when going down stairs.

I think a wall or hall widener would be of more use and I could store it next to my left handed screwdriver under the bench seat.

Good luck!
 
Ohh ohh... IV bag hanger on the chair....


Kinda sucks walking someone down a stair-chair with someone trying to hold the bag while going down the stairs behind you, with the possibility of the IV being pulled out.


Granted I use an extension with alligator clip for that very reason, but alot don't, and it'd still be a good thing to have.




But as far as the motor goes, it'd have to be completely battery run, no engine. And you'd have to have a way to DC it from the treads incase it stops working so we can have a fail-safe and still work the chair without the motor.
 
Agree with AK - current stair chair designs are pretty good. Don't need a revolution so much as a refinement. Powered stretchers are nice, but they weigh a ton, and if you have to carry a motorized stair chair up 5 flights, not cool. Frankly I'm not even sure how a motor would play into things. When you use it properly, the treads do an admirable job of controlling the rate of descent.

It would be nice if it had -

  • integrated oxygen attachment - i've had chairs with and without the extra mount point for a cylinder
  • along those same lines, IV therapy is probably a good addition too
  • increased lateral stability - even when you have a pt's arms strapped down, they can get squirrely and make it a hundred times more difficult to go down without spilling
  • try to increase the ergonomics of using it like a wheelchair - work on the casters maybe to make it easier to push on carpets and the like?
 
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I thought somebody already made one with a motorized track.
 
Thank you for your input so far! Everything you have said so far has been useful.

As far as the motor goes, I think (in our minds) it would be an ideal solution assuming we could make fail-safes etc, but it certainly has not yet been decided if its practical.
We could very well go with a solution like the treads on the Stryker model.

Again, if there is anything you can think of that you would like to see changed in an ideal chair (even if you don't know if it is possible) would be really helpful. Or anything you really like in the current chairs you use that you definitely would want to keep.

Thanks again!
 
I thought of something else.

Consider powered stretchers vs. standard stretchers.

How much more do powered stretchers weigh? A lot. How easy are they to operate when the power system fails? Not as easy.

So what's going to happen with a powered stair chair when its power system fails (battery dies, motor stops working, whatever)? That's more weight we're going to have to carry around manually. Are the wheels or tracks or whatever it is you're planning on powering going to get out of the way if it stops working? What's going to happen if the powered stair chair fails in the middle of a flight of steps and there's a patient strapped in? You can't very well turn it sideways or flip it over to tuck the powered wheels or tracks out of the way.

Maybe you've already thought of all this and have perfectly simple solutions. If so, good—if not, now you have some new stuff to think about, and I think that's what you wanted.
 
Maybe it's just me, but carrying someone UPSTAIRS in a stair chair is a royal pain, I'd love to see some kind of a refinement to make this easier. No idea how, but it'd be nice.

I'm short. It's hard. haha
 
From my experience:

The less working parts something has, the better it works.

If it requires a battery, the battery fails when you don't have a way to replace/recharge it.

The more precision something has, the more maintenance it requires.

Things can be built light, or they can be built sturdy. I have never found a happy medium.
 
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