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Vacuum Mattress
A vacuum mattress, or vacmat, is a medical device used for the immobilisation of patients, especially in case of a vertebra, pelvis or limb trauma (especially for femur trauma). It is also used for manual transportation of patients for short distances (it replaces the stretcher). It was invented by Loed and Haederlé, who called it "shell" mattress (''matelas coquille'' in French). Medical uses The full spine immobilisation ( splint) is performed with: a rigid cervical collar, a vacuum mattress and a stretcher under it (the longitudinal stiffness of the mattress alone is not sufficient). Preparation of the vacuum mattress The vacuum mattress is put on a stretcher or possibly on a long spine board. The straps are put under the mattress, along its side, so they do not reach the ground. Then, the polystyrene balls are distributed evenly through the mattress by shaking its surface. (A section with fewer balls would be less rigid, conversely if balls are concentrated at any give ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medical Device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assurance before regulating governments allow marketing of the device in their country. As a general rule, as the associated risk of the device increases the amount of testing required to establish safety and efficacy also increases. Further, as associated risk increases the potential benefit to the patient must also increase. Discovery of what would be considered a medical device by modern standards dates as far back as c. 7000 BC in Baluchistan where Neolithic dentists used flint-tipped drills and bowstrings. Study of archeology and Roman medical literature also indicate that many types of medical devices were in widespread use during the time of ancient Rome. In the United States it wasn't until the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casualty Lifting
Casualty lifting is the first step of casualty movement, an early aspect of emergency medical care. It is the procedure used to put the casualty (the patient) on a stretcher. Developed emergency services use lifting devices, such as scoop stretchers, that allow secured lifting with minimal personnel. Other methods (explained below) can be used when such devices are not available. Since only stabilised casualties are moved (except in unusual circumstances), the lifting is usually never performed in emergency; emergency movements are sometimes performed to respect the Golden Hour. This depends on the organisation of the medical services and on the specific circumstances. Maximum care must be taken to avoid to worsen an unstable trauma. The head-neck-chest axis must be kept straight to protect the spine, and the first responders must keep the patient's body stable (no movement of the feet) during the lift. The first responders have to carry a heavy load (probably more than 20&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emergency Room
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of patients who present without prior appointment; either by their own means or by that of an ambulance. The emergency department is usually found in a hospital or other primary care center. Due to the unplanned nature of patient attendance, the department must provide initial treatment for a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, some of which may be life-threatening and require immediate attention. In some countries, emergency departments have become important entry points for those without other means of access to medical care. The emergency departments of most hospitals operate 24 hours a day, although staffing levels may be varied in an attempt to reflect patient volume. History Accident services were provided by workmen's compensation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vacuum Splint
A vacuum splint is a device like a small vacuum mattress that is used in emergency medicine as a temporary splint. Vacuum splints operate by extracting air from the splint itself to enable the thousands of polystyrene balls inside the splint to mold around the injured body part similar to an orthopedic cast. Vacuum splints are primarily used by paramedics to splint trauma-related injuries, joint dislocation, subluxation, and extremity fractures. Advantages of the vacuum splint include the ability to provide support whilst relieving pressure at the injury site and the ability to conform to any shape. The limb may also be X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...ed with the splint on. References Emergency medical equipment {{Treatment-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamming (physics)
Jamming is the physical process by which the viscosity of some mesoscopic materials, such as granular materials, glasses, foams, polymers, emulsions, and other complex fluids, increases with increasing particle density. The jamming transition has been proposed as a new type of phase transition, with similarities to a glass transition but very different from the formation of crystalline solids. While a glass transition occurs when the liquid state is cooled, the jamming transition happens when the density, or the packing fraction of the particles, is increased. This crowding of the constituent particles prevents them from flowing under an applied stress and from exploring phase space, thus making the aggregate material behave as a solid. The system may be able to unjam if volume fraction is decreased, or external stresses are applied such that they exceed the yield stress. This transition is interesting because it is nonlinear with respect to volume fraction. The jamming phas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a poor barrier to oxygen and water vapour and has a relatively low melting point. Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics, the scale of its production being several million tonnes per year. Polystyrene can be naturally transparent, but can be colored with colorants. Uses include protective packaging (such as packing peanuts and in the jewel cases used for storage of optical discs such as CDs and occasionally DVDs), containers, lids, bottles, trays, tumblers, disposable cutlery, in the making of models, and as an alternative material for phonograph records. As a thermoplastic polymer, polystyrene is in a solid (glassy) state at room temperature but flows if heated above about 100 °C, its glass transition temperature. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life. Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such as polystyrene to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins that are fundamental to biological structure and function. Polymers, both natural and synthetic, are created via polymerization of many small molecules, known as monomers. Their consequently large molecular mass, relative to small molecule compounds, produces unique physical properties including toughness, high elasticity, viscoelasticity, and a tendency to form amorphous and semicrystalline structures rather than crystals. The term "polymer" derives from the Greek word πολύς (''polus'', meaning "many, much") and μέρος (''meros'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recovery Position
In first aid, the recovery position (also called semi-prone) is one of a series of variations on a lateral recumbent or three-quarters prone position of the body, often used for unconscious but breathing casualties. An unconscious person, a person who is assessed on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at eight or below, in a supine position (on the back) may not be able to maintain an open airway as a conscious person would. This can lead to an obstruction of the airway, restricting the flow of air and preventing gaseous exchange, which then causes hypoxia, which is life-threatening. Thousands of fatalities occur every year in casualties where the cause of unconsciousness was not fatal, but where airway obstruction caused the patient to suffocate. This is especially true for unconscious pregnant women; once turned on to their left side, pressure is relieved on the inferior vena cava, and venous return is not restricted. The cause of unconsciousness can be any reason from trauma to i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scoop Stretcher
The scoop stretcher (or clamshell, Roberson orthopedic stretcher, or just scoop) is a device used specifically for moving injured people. It is ideal for carrying casualties with possible spinal injuries. A scoop stretcher has a structure that can be split vertically into two parts, with shaped 'blades' towards the centre which can be brought together underneath a patient. The two halves are placed separately either side of the patient, and then brought together until securing clips at the top and bottom both engage. Scoop stretchers reduce the chance of undesirable movement of injured areas during transfer of a trauma patient, as they maintain the patient in a supine alignment during transfer to a stretcher, vacuum mattress or long spine board). They are more comfortable than a long spine board for transport. The scoop stretcher can be used for patient transport Patient transport is a service that transfers patients to and from medical facilities in non-emergency situa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic irregular bone whose complex structure is composed primarily of bone, and secondarily of hyaline cartilage. They show variation in the proportion contributed by these two tissue types; such variations correlate on one hand with the cerebral/caudal rank (i.e., location within the backbone), and on the other with phylogenetic differences among the vertebrate taxa. The basic configuration of a vertebra varies, but the bone is its ''body'', with the central part of the body constituting the ''centrum''. The upper (closer to) and lower (further from), respectively, the cranium and its central nervous system surfaces of the vertebra body support attachment to the intervertebral discs. The posterior part of a vertebra forms a vertebral arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Spine Board
A spinal board, is a patient handling device used primarily in pre-hospital trauma (medicine), trauma care. It is designed to provide rigid support during movement of a person with suspected spinal or limb injuries. They are most commonly used by ambulance staff, as well as lifeguards and ski patrollers. Historically, backboards were also used in an attempt to "improve the posture" of young people, especially girls. Due to lack of evidence to support long-term use, the practice of keeping people on long boards for prolonged periods of time is decreasing. Extraction uses The spinal backboard was originally designed as a device to vehicle extrication, remove people from a vehicle. After a time people were simply kept on the spine board for transport without evidence supporting this need. Medical uses A spinal board is primarily indicated for judicious use to transport people who may have had a spinal injury, usually due to the mechanism of injury, and the attending team are not a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
