By Dr Chris Denny, Auckland HEMS Medical Director
New packs for Auckland HEMS
In the early days of Auckland HEMS, we loosely ‘bolted on’ our equipment to the existing paramedic gear. As time passed and we forged a strong collaborative relationship with our paramedic colleagues, the performance gap in our gear required a solution. One year ago we held an ‘Ergonomic Equipment Exercise’, led by Dr. Samantha Bendall (on sabbatical from Sydney, NSW). From this evening of pack testing we learned to focus on integration. Several design concepts guided our work:
ARHT paramedic Rob Gemmell winches with one of the packs
We are very keen to learn from the HEMS community. What are other services using? What works? What is the future of PHARM medical equipment going to look like?
Auckland HEMS 
Reblogged this on PHARM.
Well done! This subject deserves rigor. At MedSTAR we have been through this process and are now using V3.1!!
My advice:
Modules should be based on procedures (eg shouldnt need to open more than one module to start an IV or do a finger thoracostomy)
Like modules should be grouped together
All modules should be individually sealed
Im happy to provide more detail. Feel free to email me back
Cheers, Tingles.
Hi Chris,
Exceptional work integrating your gear. I am an anaesthesia reg and hopefully will be doing some retrieval in the future. I have always been curious why more crews haven’t picked up on the idea of integrating vents, vital signs monitors and pumps into one unit.
The US military seems to have put a bit of effort into this.
http://www.lstat.com
http://nectardesign.com/lstat-lite/
I think with space at a premium it might be a reasonable next step?
Can’t wait to see what you come up with next.