Backboards

[travisjaquith]

I am currently in high school and am very involved at my local EMS agency and Fire House. I am currently a first responder, but when I turn 18 I will go for my EMT-B and gradually work on my Paramedic. After recieving a college degree I'd like to become a paramedic/firefighter for a while. In one of my classes (engineering design and development) we have been given the task of engineering something. My Idea is a backboard and I need some info. First would you prefer a heated padded backboard or a padded backboard with retractable straps (ASSUMING THE PADS NOT MESS WITH THE C-SPIINE STABALIZATION AND THEY ARE DURABLE AND EASLY CLEANED). Im considering using very thin gel around the shoulderblads head and right above the pelvis. This gel would be resesed into the board and have as little impact on the pt's mobilty as possible.

First - Is this a good idea
Second- Would you ever use it
Third- what suggestions do you have
Fourth- If you had to pick heated/padded or padded/straps wich would you pick.

 

[EyeOn]

I would refrain from heated padding only because it may not be what the patient needs and depending on the injuries involved, may actually cause more harm than good (especially if there's a lot of bleeding external or internal...known or not known).

Being I was a guinea pig for a backboard ride with my classmates and feeling what it's like to be on a backboard, pads would probably be best placed along where the hips would be and the shoulder blades and/or side padded panels to keep the patient from rocking.

 

[oldschoolmedic]

1. Heated board, bad idea. EyeOn is right. It may not be what the patient needs, plus you have to look at cost effectiveness and durability, two very important issues in capitol purchases. First problems I see with this are: What will be the method of heating said board, electric? How do you charge it, or does it need to be plugged in? How much does it weigh? How do you clean it? Can it be immersed? If it's chemically heated what source will you be using? Can it be regulated to provide a uniform temperature? What is the cost of said chem packs? They are going to have to be almost free, or the best thing since sliced bread for a county to continue laying out money for them year after year.
2. Padded boards (yes, with gel) are already commercially available, but are cost prohibitive and an infection control nightmare.
3. As far as retractable straps go, see my previous answer. Imagine the potential for bacterial growth in a dark, damp, chemically impervious buckle retractor mechanism. It would give Stephen King nightmares.

I would love to see a stretcher, capable of holding a four hundred pounder, that did not weigh over a hundred pounds itself. Or a pneumatic or electric stretcher that wasn't so expensive. How about redesigning the KED to fit into modern vehicles besides SUVs and trucks? Or maybe an immobilization system based on the spiderstrap concept that will last under heavy use and is easy to put away and clean. How about a single patient use closed cell foam mat instead of permanently padding each board, make a disposable pad etc... See where I am going with this?

A spineboard is the way it is because it works. If you increase the cost per unit, people in charge of purchasing will buy the other guy's product, becuase they can buy a simple spineboard, pad it with blankets/sheets/towels etc... along with ever versatile 9' straps and outperform your product. Keep your ideas simple and cost-effective when marketing/designing for public safety people. We're just like NASA, riding around at high speeds in vehicles designed for us by the lowest bidders.

 

[premedtim]

I would love to see a stretcher, capable of holding a four hundred pounder, that did not weigh over a hundred pounds itself.

What are the stretchers currently made out of? I'm not sure how feasible it is, but I would imagine a stretcher that used only titanium for the metal parts of it would weigh under a hundred pounds and handle a lot of weight because of how strong it is. And by feasible I mean cost-effective, heh. Just a thought anyways. B)

 

[KEVD18]

neither. the current backbaord is a creature of evolution that has basically peaked. if your designing anything, design a better strap system or stretcher

by the way, your idead for a backboard wouldnt work in my service area. when we dropp a c-spined pt off at the hosp, generally theyre on the board for some time, so we leave without the board. now, we might be back at that same hospital shortly or we might not be back for weeks. i work in boston. theres a dozen hospitals to choose from. now when i drop a pt c a board off, i go to the ems storage are and get another board. if theres another board belonging to my company, ill take that one, but if not and i just used my last board( i carry two) i usually borrow one from another company. what im getting at is we dont see our equipment again for sometime, if ever. so a super duper balls to the wall i can do anything backboard at what would end up being severasl hundred dollars wouldnt appeal to my company, or any other in my area.

 

[fyrdog]

Good luck with your school project. Do some research on the short comings of the current back boards in use.

1. They can cause pressure sores if the PT is on a board to long (can be as short as 20 minutes in the elderly)

2. Aches and pains for void areas that can use padding. Perhaps some thing that inflates similar to the lumbar support in some car seats.

3. A secure way to hold the patient on the board should you need to stand the board up straight to move patients from one spot to another or on the side if they vomit or are pregnant.

4. Do you need FDA approve as a new medical device? What other standards do you need to meet?

Have fun with your project.

 

[BossyCow]

I would look at the following issues prior to purchasing the backboard you describe:

Is the padding adjustable? Everybody is shaped differently and needs padding in different spots.

Retractable is great until they quit retracting. I go by the theory that the less moving parts, the less there is to break on the darn thing. Also agree with the cleaning issues stated in the earlier post. How would you get it clean in there?????

I wouldn't go with heating. In SAR we use those little pocket heat packets they sell for hunters. Toss a few of those in among the blankets and you can keep most people toasty warm and they last longer than the heat packs do. Anything that is going to stay warm is going to need constant callibration. Again... something to go wrong and need adjustment.

There is a nice 'hefty' size stretcher, I think Stryker makes it. It's actually called the Orca, but I think they have an Acronym for it so it doesn't really refer to the whale.. no really, honest!

 

[wolfwyndd]

I really like the padding idea. I don't think the padding would be that bad of an infection control issue IF the padding is similar to stretchers. Stretchers are padded, you wipe / spray them down and they're cleam. Same thing could be done for the padded backboard. I can easily see how they could be cost prohibitive, but I'm not seeing the infection control nightmare. The retractable straps would be a good idea IF they have some sort of clip on BOTH ends so it could be removed for cleaning AND retract from both ends to the middle so that it could be 'locked open' (or locked while in use) so that after you do clean it it can hang dry. And that way if you can remove it from the backboard you can put another one on and go while the other is being cleaned.

 

[Jon]

I like the padding idea, but it has already been done. (can't find it online, though).

As for retracting belts - I'd think of a device in the center of the strap that just helps store the strap.

 

[jeepmedic]

Padded back boards would really be helpful if the cost were held down. The one thing that needs to be looked at IMO would be a disposable back board that could be folded flat and be cost effictive.

 

[Pablo the Pirate]

i like both ideas for the padding and the retractable straps but i agree with whoever said the padding needs to be able to move and mold to different people. we are not all created equal per say. also retractable straps would be great but it would have to be designed for easy cleaning. remember that some pt's on LBB are extremely....messy...with icky bodily fluids. the housing to the straps would have to be designed so it doesn't get gunked up. gunky=not work well. hope that was understandable and helpful

 

[FF/EMT Sam]

I am currently in high school and am very involved at my local EMS agency and Fire House. I am currently a first responder, but when I turn 18 I will go for my EMT-B and gradually work on my Paramedic.

I'm in the same boat that you are; a high schooler just waiting to turn 18 so that I can use my EMT-B cert (which I've had since June) as AIC. Where are you from?

 

[Jon]

I'm in the same boat that you are; a high schooler just waiting to turn 18 so that I can use my EMT-B cert (which I've had since June) as AIC. Where are you from?

I did that for 2 years... it stinks, BUT, when you turn 18, you've seen a lot and done a lot, so it is a benifit as well.

Where is your signature quote from?

 

[FF/EMT Sam]

I did that for 2 years... it stinks, BUT, when you turn 18, you've seen a lot and done a lot, so it is a benifit as well.

Where is your signature quote from?

Yeah, I keep telling myself that I'll be grateful for it when I turn 18, but it stinks to be the only EMT at the station when a call comes in. The quote is from a list on this site in the humor section, but I work with an ALS provider who frequently gets comments like that from the nurses. One of my favorite quotes from one of her reports is that "the patient is becoming aroused. Um... I mean...getting more alert."