GB2213735A - Means for support and transportation of injured patients. - Google Patents

Abstract

Support and transportation means for use in transporting injured patients comprises a rectangular panel (12) of flexible foldable material having two generally parallel elongate longer edges (13, 14) formed as channels or sleeves (17, 18) with a plurality of recesses (19, 20) therein, each recess (19, 20) being spanned by a respective hand grip member (21, 22). When a reinforcing pole is introduced into the channels or sleeves (17, 18) the hand grip members (21, 22) match the cylindrical surface thereof to assist in transferring the weight to the handle. Pockets (45, 48) may be provided at one or both ends of the panel (12), which may further be provided with an inflatable head rest (31), and supports (29) may be provided for converting the panel into a bed. <IMAGE>

Description

MEANS FOR SUPPORT AND TRANSPORTATION OF INJURED PATIENTS The present invention relates to means for support and transportation of injured patients, and particularly to such means which can be made more widely available than conventional stretchers.

It has long been recognised that patients suffering from physical injuries due to an accident, such as a motor accident or a fall, should remain as little disturbed as possible in order to avoid compounding any injuries already sustained. In many circumstances, however, this duty of care to the patient cannot readily be met due to environmental circumstances. For example, it is usually necessary to extricate the victims of a motor accident from the vehicles in which they were travelling. This is often done by the first arrivals on the scene as a matter of first aid, in order to make the injured patients more comfortable and to carry them away from any residual danger in the vehicle, such as fire.Frequently, injured patients are found lying in the roadway and it is necessary for their own safety, and to allow continuation of the traffic flow, for themto be moved to the road side. Without equipment, however, passers-by or even the police, can only achieve this by man-handling the patient, gripping limbs or under the shoulders, and frequently it has been found that additional damage to an injured patient's internal organs has been inflicted by such attempts to move them, damage which could have been avoided if more convenient means for transportation of the patient had been available.

Likewise, in remote regions which attract hikers and climbers, the occurrence of an accident resulting in injury is often exacerbated by the need to carry the injured patient over long distances with makeshift supports in order to bring them to a point where conventional conveyance can be continued, such as by ambulance or helicopter. Again, the makeshift conveyance of patients, sometimes no more than being carried in linked arms of two or more rescuers, can result in additional injury. However, it is at present unavoidable in the sense that hiking or climbing expeditions for pleasure do not have available resources for coping with such emergencies and it would be entirely unreasonable to carry a bulky and inconvenient stretcher on every expedition or trip to the hills simply to cater for the, hopefully remote, possibility that an accident requiring a stretcher will occur.

The present invention seeks, therefore to provide lightweight collapsible means for the support and transportation of injured patients, the dimensions and bulk of which are such that they can be easily carried in small vehicles such as police cars or as part of the equipment of an expedition, for example as part of a backpack, without excessively increasing the load.

The present invention further seeks to provide a lightweight support and transportation means which is economical to produce and simple and reliable to use.

According to the present invention, therefore, support and transportation means for use in transporting injured patients, comprises a rectangular panel of flexible foldable material having two generally parallel elongate longer edges and two transverse shorter edges, the longer edges being provided with elongate sleeves or channels for receiving elongate rigid reinforcing members, the said sleeves or channels having lateral openings or recesses in the free edges thereof spanned by flexible hand grip members forming hand grips spaced along the longer edges of the panel by which it may be carried in a generally horizontal orientation with or without elongate rigid reinforcing members in the said sleeves or channels.

The panel is substantially unreinforced in the sense that it incorporates no rigid reinforcing members and can be used in this configuration to carry injured patients simply by resting them on the panel and lifting it by the hand grips. The hand grips may be held by the hands of the carriers, or there may be provided appropriate belt hooks or grips by which the hand grip members may be attached to belts worn around the waists of the carriers leaving their hands free whilst nevertheless allowing a companion to be carried on the panel. This feature has considerable advantages for military applications where it may be necessary to carry an injured comrade whilst also maintaining a defensive posture, carrying weapons and/or equipment requiring both hands to be free.

For more conventional use the elongate sleeves or channels along the long edges of the panel may receive reinforcing members in the form of poles which may be longer than the long edge of the panel so as to project from it, or may be substantially the same length as the panel, in which case the support and transportation means will still be carried by the recesses spanned by the hand grips, but in this case the lifting points will still be located in correspondence with the hand grips.

These hand grips may further be shaped so as to cooperate closely with a reinforcing pole, for which purpose it is envisaged that each hand grip will have a curvature in transverse section matching that of an associated reinforcing pole so that, when the pole is fitted into the channel, each hand grip lies substantially parallel to the cylindrically curved surface of the reinforcing pole and offers support thereto in transferring the weight of the occupant to the pole.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the sleeves or channels extending along the longitudinal edges of the panel may be formed by folding the edges of the panel over and securing the free edge at a point inwardly of the newly formed loop or channel edge. Alternatively, however, appropriate channel-shape elements or members may be attached to the longitudinal edges of the flexible panel in order to form the sleeve or channel along each edge.

The support and transportation means of the present invention may additionally be provided with means for spanning the reinforcing poles to provide additional reinforcement holding the panel in a substantially flat configuration when the poles are fitted in the channels.

In addition, the support and transportation means of the present invention may incorporate inflatable head support means at one end, conveniently in the form of a chamber or sac secured at one edge to a transverse shorter edge of the panel. Attachment means may be provided to secure the head support in an out-of-use position underneath the panel when it is not inflated. Such attachment means may conveniently be in the form of the hook and loop fasteners sold under the trade mark VELCRO.

The support and transportation means of the present invention may also be provided with a thermal overlay to protect the patient, and this may be in the form of a single laminar element of high thermal insulating properties. Preferably a material which is also water proof, of very reduced thickness and great flexibility is used so that this, too, can be folded into a small volume for storage. In order to minimise the dimensions of such a thermal overlay it is preferably provided with attachment means along two edges for cooperation with corresponding attachment means on the support panel itself so that the dimensions of the thermal overlay can be kept as small as possible and edge portions for tucking under a patient to retain the overlay are not required.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the hand grip elements are made of a woven fabric such as nylon webbing, and formed in strips having their ends secured to opposite sides of the recesses formed in the sleeve or channel members along each longitudinal edge of the panel.

In other embodiments of the present invention the said panel may be formed as a two-layer structure or may be provided with a second layer of flexible material attached at or adjacent at least the long edges thereof whereby to form a bag-like container for receiving an injured person or a body. In such an embodiment the said second layer may be removably attachable to the said panel by fastening means such as laces and eyelets, VELCRO (RTM), studs, buttons or the like.

Additionally, or alternatively, at least one pouch or open pocket may be formed at least at one end of the said panel for receiving one end of a body or a resilient support member therefor. A pouch or pocket may be provided at each end of the panel. The size of the or each pouch or pocket may be sufficient just to receive, for example, the feet of a patient to help in retaining the body, or may be sufficiently large to receive the whole of the legs, or at least the lower part of the legs, whereby partly to contain the body.

Such pouches or pockets may be made of the same or a different material as that of the panel and the pouches or pockets may be closable in any known way, for example for retaining emergency equipment such as dressings, survival kit or collapsible poles prior to unfolding.

If an inflatable head rest is provided this may likewise be contained within such a closable pouch or pocket or may be separately secured to one end of the panel. An inflatable head rest may also be formed in such a way that it constitutes a pocket before inflation.

The support panel of the present invention may also be converted to form a temporary bed by utilising a plurality of support elements by which it can be raised from the ground and held in a substantially horizontal orientation.

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a panel forming a support and transportation member in accordance with the principles of the present invention; Figure Ia is a perspective view of the panel of Figure 1 folded into a small volume for storage; Figure 2 is a plan view on a smaller scale of the panel of Figure 1 having rigid reinforcing elements fitted thereto; Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the apparatus of Figure 2 raised from the ground to form a temporary bed by the use of additional supports; Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the panel member of Figure 1 with the head support inflated; Figure 4a is a similar perspective view showing the head support deflated and in a storage position;; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a support incorporating means for attachment of a thermal overlay; and Figure 6 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of one corner of the panel of Figure 1 illustrating the structure of the hand grips.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates the support and transportation means in the form of a stretcher generally indicated 11 comprising a substantially rectangular flat panel 12 of water impermeable lightweight flexible, foldable plastics material such as nylon webbing having two parallel longer edges 13,14 and two parallel shorter edges 15,16 orthogonal to the longer edges 13,14.

At each of the longer edges 13,14 the panel 12 is folded and seamed to form two longitudinally extending channels or pockets 17,18 extending the full length of the panel 12 from the transverse edge 15 defining one end to the transverse edge 16 defining the other. At three points along the length of each of the pockets or channels 17,18 there are formed respective openings or recesses 19a,b,c and 20a,b,c, which extend transversely across substantially the whole of the width of each of the channels 17,18. Each of the recesses 19a,b,c and 20a,b,c is spanned by a respective hand grip member 21a,b,c, and 22a,b,c. The form of a typical such hand grip member is illustrated in Figure 6 which shows in greater detail the hand grip member 22a spanning the recess 20a in the bottom left corner of the panel 12 illustrated in Figure 1.It is to be appreciated, however, that all of the hand grips 21a,b,c and 22a,b,c are substantially identical and for this reason only the hand grip 22a will be described in further detail.

As will be seen from Figure 6 the hand grip 22a is formed from a flexible elongate strip of woven fabric similar to that from which the panel 12 itself is made and each of the two ends 22a' and 22a" of the hand grip 22a are housed within respective adjacent interior portions of the channel 18 in such a way that an inner face 23 of the hand grip member 22a is concavely curved in transverse section and faces the adjacent edge of the panel 12 defined by the recess 20a, whilst the opposite face 24 is convexly curved and faces away from the panel 12. The hand grip member 22a may be secured within the channel 18 by any suitable means, for example, by adhesive and/or lines of stitching, which latter is illustrated in Figure 6.By utilising this configuration for the hand grips 21a,b,c and 22a,b,c it is possible to provide secure points for gripping the panel 12 by several people so that this can be lifted in a substantially horizontal orientation in the manner of a stretcher to support a recumbent injured patient. Figure 6 also shows, by the chain line 44, the possibility of forming a double layer panel for use as a "body bag".

However, the support and transportation of the present invention also includes rigid reinforcement for the panel 12 as illustrated in Figure 2. Here, the reinforcement is illustrtated as two substantially rigid elongate poles 25,26 which1 as they are inserted into the channels 17 or 18 respectively, lie with their cylindrically curved surfaces in contact and substantially matching the internal convex face 23 of the hand grip members 22a,b,c or 21a,b,c as appropriate. This transfers the load applied by the injured patient to the panel 12 in an even and distributed manner over the whole of the length-of the channel members or pockets 17,18 thereby reducing the strain on the stitching and at the same time offering the minimum bulk and inconvenience so that insertion of the poles 25,26 can be achieved readily without any obstruction. This is important since such operation may be necessary in difficult or dangerous conditions where rapidity of execution may be of paramount importance.

The two elongate reinforcing poles 25,26 are shown in Figure 2 spanned by transverse spreader struts 27,28 each of which has a semi-cylindrical socket at each end for engaging the correspondingly shaped cylindrical surface of the adjacent rigid elongate pole 25,26. The length of the transverse spreader struts 27,28 is selected to be sufficiently greater than the relaxed or untensioned length of the shorter sides 15,16 of the panel 12 as to place these under light tension when fitted between the reinforcing poles 25,26 so as to be held in position by the tension applied to the panel 12. Additional connector means such as pins or caps may be provided for absolute security but are not illustrated.

It will be appreciated further that since the curved surfaces of the rigid elongate poles 25,26 are exposed within the recesses 19,20 it would equally be possible to position the transverse spreader struts 27,28 in correspondence with such recesses rather than at the ends of the panel 12 as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 3 illustrates the adaptation of the support and transportation means of the present invention as a temporary bed by the use of cruciform stands 29 the upper ends of which are engaged in the recesses 19a, 20a and F9c, 20c. In this case it will be seen that the transverse spreader struts 27,28 are indeed positioned in correspondence with these recesses. By forming the stands as cruciform structure it is possible for these to be collapsed to reduce their dimensions for transport and storage. Other forms of stand may, of course, be considered including conical stands or inflatable stands.

In order to improve comfort for the injured patient 30.

shown illustrated in position on the bed formed by the support and transportation means in Figure 3, there may additionally be provided, as shown in Figures 4 and 4a, a generally cylindrical inflatable chamber 31 having substantially circular end panels 32 and attached to the shorter edge 16 of the panel 12 by a flap 33 parallel to the generatrix of the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical inflatable chamber 31 opposite which is a further flat flap 34 provided on one surface with hook and loop-type attachment means of the type sold under the trade mark VELCRO for connection to a cooperating such element 35 attached to the underface of the panel 12.

Figure 4a illustrates an alternative but similar embodiment, in which a chamber 47 is deflated and held in a pouch or pocket 48 in its out-of-use position under the panel 12. Figure 4 illustrates the provision of a short stube 36 for use in inflating the chamber 31. Also shown in Figures 4 and 4a is the provision of a pouch 45 with reinforcing stitching 46, which serves to receive the lower part of the legs of a patient to help retain the patient on the stretcher when it is conveyed over rough terrain and may become tilted. Pouches of a different size than that shown may also be provided such pouches may also be closable, for example by VELCRO (RTM) fasteners, studs or the like, to form pockets for containing emergency supplies, dressings or the like prior to use.

Figure 5 illustrates the provision of a thermal overlay 37 in the form of a rectangular panel similar in dimensions to that of the panel 12 and provided along its longer longitudinal edges with two strips of VELCRO 38,39 for cooperation with corresponding such strips 40,41 attached to the panel 12 along the inner edges of the pocket or channel elements 17,18.

Finally, Figure Ia illustrates the panel 12 when folded into a small volume for transport or storage. Because of its small dimensions this panel may be carried in a back pack by hikers or stored in a convenient location in a small vehicle such as a police vehicle and will then be Kmmediately available at the scene of an accident upon arrival of the police. Injured victims of the accident can then be placed on the panel 12 after having opened this out and lain it on the ground alongside the victim, simply by rolling or gently lifting the victim by only a few inches from his resting position; it is then possible to move the victim to the roadside or into an ambulance without further potentially damaging movements simply by lifting the panel 12 by the hand grips 21,22 or by inserting reinforcing poles 25,26 and subsequently lifting the stretcher thus formed.

Although in the embodiments shown three handles have been shown along each side it will be appreciated that more (or fewer) such handles may be provided to suit the requirements of different users.

Claims (19)

1. Support and transportation means for use in transporting injured patients comprising a rectangular panel of flexible foldable material having two generally parallel elongate longer edges and two transverse shorter edges, the longer edges being provided with elongate sleeves or channels for receiving elongate rigid reinforcing members, the said sleeves or channels having lateral openings or recesses in the free edges thereof spanned by flexible hand grip members forming hand grips spaced along the longer edges of the panel by which it may be carried in a generally horizontal orientation with or without elongate rigid reinforcing members in the said sleeves or channels.

2. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 1 in which there are further provided belt hooks or grips by which the hand grip members may be attached to belts worn around the waists of carriers.

3. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 further comprising reinforcing members in the form of poles for insertion into the elongate sleeves or channels along the long edges of the panel.

4. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim7 in which each hand grip has a curvature in transverse section matching that of an associated reinforcing pole so that, when the pole is fitted into the channel, each hand grip lies substantially parallel to the cylindrically curved surface of the reinforcing pole and offers support thereto in transferring the weight of the occupant to the pole.

5. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the sleeves or channels extending along the longitudinal edges of the panel are formed by folding the edges of the panel over and securing the free edge thereof at a point inwardly of the newly formed loop or channel edge.

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6. Support and transportation means as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5, in which appropriate channel-shape elements or members are attached to the longitudinal edges of the flexible panel whereby to form the said sleeve or channel along each said edge.

7. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, additionally provided with means for spanning the reinforcing poles whereby to provide additional reinforcement holding the panel in a substantially flat configuration when the poles are fitted in the channel.

8. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, further incorporating inflatable head support means at one end thereof, in the form of a chamber or sac.

9. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 8, in which there are provided means for securing the inflatable head support in an out-of-use position underneath the panel when it is not inflated.

10. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim further including a thermal overlay in Withe form of a single laminar element of high thermal insulation waterproof material of small thickness.

11. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 11, in which there are provided attachment means along two parallel edges of the said thermal overlay for cooperation with corresponding attachment means on the support panel itself.

12. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the hand grip elements are made of a woven fabric such as nylon webbing, and formed in strips having their ends secured to opposite sides of the recesses formed in the sleeve or channel members along each longitudinal edge of the panel.

13. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said panel is provided with a second layer of flexible material attached at or adjacent at least the long edges thereof, whereby to form a bag-like container for receiving an injured person or a body.

14. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 13, in which the said second layer is removably attachable to the said panel by fastening means such as daces and eyelets, VELCRO (RTM), studs, buttons or the like.

15. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which at least one pouch or open pocket is formed at least at one end of the said panel for receiving the legs of a patient.

16. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 15, in which there are provided a pouch or pocket at each end of the said panel, at least one said pouch or pocket being closable.

17. Support and transportation means as claimed in Claim 16, in which the pouch or pocket at the or each end of the panel is made of the same material as the panel and secured thereto by stitching, at least along two parallel edges thereof.

18. Support and transportation means as claimed in any preceding Claim, further including a plurality of support elements attachable to the support panel whereby to hold it raised above the ground in a substantially horizontal orientation for use as a temporary bed.

19. Support and transportation means substantially as *hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.