Harness Tether for Suspension Trauma Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fall protection systems can lead to orthostatic shock or suspension trauma after prolonged hanging, which can be fatal, and rescue measures may not be executed quickly enough to prevent these injuries.
Innovation Solution
A device with a harness featuring a second safety eyelet in the front area, allowing for a separate tether to be attached and loaded with the person's weight after a fall, transferring the load from the safety rope to the tether, thereby repositioning the person to a sitting stance in the leg loops, reducing the risk of trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety rope is attached to the harness in the upper back or neck area to prevent falling, then the person is protected from immediate fall injury, but the person is at risk of suspension trauma after prolonged hanging
Solution Approach 1:
The fall protection system is divided into two separate functional components: a safety rope for fall arrest and a tether for positioning. The safety rope attaches at the back/neck area to stop falls, while the tether attaches at the front area to maintain an upright sitting position during suspension, thereby preventing suspension trauma while maintaining fall protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether acts as an intermediary element between the harness and the anchor point. It provides a separate load path that specifically addresses the positioning function, mediating between the fall arrest function (safety rope) and the need to prevent suspension trauma by maintaining an upright position.
2Ease of operation
If the safety rope is attached at the back or neck area of the harness, then the rope does not interfere with the working area in front of the person, but the person cannot be repositioned to avoid suspension trauma
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the work area protection function (safety rope at back/neck) from the trauma prevention function (tether at front). This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without interfering with the other, maintaining work area accessibility while enabling trauma prevention through proper positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The harness is designed with multiple attachment points serving different functions: the back/neck area eyelet for fall arrest and the front area eyelet for positioning. This multi-functionality allows the same harness to simultaneously support both work area accessibility and trauma prevention requirements.
3Reliability
If a separate tether is added to the harness for repositioning, then suspension trauma can be prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into two independent but complementary components: the safety rope for fall arrest and the tether for positioning. This segmentation allows each component to be simple in its own right while together providing comprehensive protection, avoiding the need for a complex integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The harness incorporates multiple attachment points that serve universal purposes: the front area eyelet can be used with the tether for positioning, and the same harness structure supports both fall arrest and positioning functions, reducing overall system complexity through multi-functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively prevents orthostatic shock and suspension trauma by repositioning the person to an anatomically favorable sitting position, allowing for safer rescue even after extended periods of hanging.
Implementation Method 1
with which the retaining cable can be held or held in a retaining position in the unloaded state by the weight of a person close to the harness
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for fall protection of persons comprising a harness with arm loops (3a, 3b) and leg loops (7a, 7b), wherein at least one first securing eyelet (4) is arranged in the back area, preferably in the neck area of the harness, in particular on the arm loops (3a, 3b) which are preferably crossed there, to which a fall arrest rope (6) can be attached, and wherein at least one second securing eyelet (10) is arranged in the front area of the harness, to which a tethering rope (11) can be attached, and at least one retaining element is arranged on the harness, in particular on at least one of the arm loops (3a, 3b), with which the tethering rope (11) is held in a retaining position close to the harness, in particular in contact with the harness, in the unloaded state and can be released from the retaining position in the state loaded by the weight of a person. The invention further relates to a method for preventing suspension trauma.