EMS Backboard with Movable Contact Surfaces for Patient Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
EMS personnel face stress and strain when handling patients on conventional backboards due to the difficulty of lifting and the discomfort and instability experienced during transport, which can exacerbate existing injuries.
Innovation Solution
A backboard with movable contact surfaces and multiple fulcrums that increase the contact area and provide lateral support, allowing for easier log rolling and reduced effort during handling, while maintaining the patient in a supine position and enhancing comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional flat backboard is used, then the backboard structure is simple, but EMS personnel experience stress and strain during lifting and handling
Solution Approach 1:
The backboard incorporates movable contact surfaces that can be adjusted between a first position providing lateral support and a second position reducing contact area. This dynamic adjustment allows the backboard to adapt to different operational phases, providing stability during transport and ease of handling during lifting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The backboard is divided into multiple functional segments including a body, movable contact surfaces, and fulcrums. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, with the movable contact surfaces providing lateral support when needed and allowing the backboard to be manipulated more easily during lifting.
2Ease of operation
If a conventional flat backboard is used, then the backboard is easy to manufacture, but the patient experiences discomfort and instability during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The movable contact surfaces provide dynamic support to the patient during transport, adjusting between lateral support and reduced contact area positions. This dynamic capability enhances patient comfort and stability while maintaining a relatively simple overall backboard structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The backboard applies different contact characteristics to different regions through the movable contact surfaces, providing enhanced lateral support where needed while maintaining simplicity in other areas. This localized quality enhancement improves patient comfort without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the backboard contact area is increased, then patient stability is improved, but the effort to log roll the patient increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable contact surfaces dynamically adjust their position and contact area based on operational needs. During transport, they provide increased contact area for stability, while during log rolling operations, they can be repositioned to reduce contact area and facilitate easier manipulation of the patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The backboard is designed with fulcrums and movable contact surfaces that can be preliminarily positioned to optimize both stability and ease of log rolling. The fulcrums are pre-configured to provide pivot points that reduce the force required for log rolling while the movable contact surfaces can be adjusted to provide stability when needed.
4Ease of operation
If the backboard is designed with multiple fulcrums and movable surfaces, then handling effort is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backboard incorporates movable contact surfaces that can be adjusted between positions to provide lateral support or reduce contact area. This dynamic capability enhances handling ease by allowing the backboard to adapt to different operational phases, while the overall structure remains relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The backboard is divided into functional segments including a body, movable contact surfaces, and fulcrums. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, with the movable contact surfaces providing lateral support when needed and allowing the backboard to be manipulated more easily during lifting.
Data Source
AI summary
A backboard includes a body that has length that is sufficient for extending under a person. The body further has an upper side for supporting a person thereon and a lower side for resting on a generally flat surface, with the body forming multiple pivot points between the upper side and the lower side. The body supports a movable contact surface to provide lateral support to and increase the contact area between the backboard and the person supported thereon.