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Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#21

Post by Retric »

Neil44 wrote: post #4
traceroute66 wrote: post #2

Seems to me like little more than a cheap publicity stunt for fundraising. I thought the number one rule for First Responders was not to cause injury (on the scene or en-route) to yourself or bystanders and not to cause further injury to the casualty. A "paramedic jet suit" just seems to be waiting for an opportunity for the paramedic to become a statistic as they fly head-first into rocky substance. Then I suppose w…

Scrambling to reach someone over difficult terrain also carries risk to life. As does being unable to reach patients for 90 minutes whatever the emergency.

Helicopters can reach people in this location just fine in a reasonable time, and more importantly bring people back. Limiting your comparison to a 400,000+$ experimental jet suit vs walking is deceptive.

If cost that much of an issue, a paraglider costs 1/10th as much and are likely much safer to operate. Or if getting a single person on site is all you need, tiny helicopters cost as low as 50k new.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#22

Post by civilaircraft »

As other commenters pointed out, this looks like a total publicity stunt. Surely it would be safer and more practical to use drones to deliver equipment/supplies with remote medical specialists advising the patient themselves or those nearby to assist (somebody would have had to be in a position to call for assistance to begin with so there is most likely a conscious person around). Obviously not ideal, but in conjuction with standard on the ground responders I would imagine this would be a much better way to address the time urgency requirement.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#23

Post by MaxBarraclough »

nradov wrote: post #20
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I suspect people probably said the same thing the first time they saw a helicopter! Odds are that they would have been right - early helicopters probably weren't safe enough to use as ambulances. Well-run modern air ambulances are very safe edit: perhaps not, see replies (twin-engine helicopters with very experienced pilots) and can serve hundreds of patients per year, generally only serving very urgent cases of co…

The first really widespread use of early helicopters in any capacity was as air ambulances for the US military during the Korean War.

The risk profile is rather different in wartime. I presume those aircraft were a good deal less safe than modern ones, but I could be mistaken.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#24

Post by Retric »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #14
mehrdadn wrote: post #6

This looks awesome. How does it compare to a helicopter though? Are helicopters not available for these situations?

You can't keep a helicopter in the back of a van.

Helicopters are faster than vans so they don’t need to fit in one.

Also, you can easily put a cheaper, more fuel efficient, and safer paraglider in the back of a van which can also carry even more supplies.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#25

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

AndrewLiptak wrote: post #10

I've seen Richard Browning fly this in person — he did a demo a couple of years ago at San Diego Comic-Con. It's unreal to watch, but it's definitely something I can see not being all that widespread: it takes a lot of training to acclimate to it. Browning's been doing a bunch of demos lately: it feels like they're trying to figure out the best use, whether that's military applications, rescue, or others. This isn't…

> I've seen Richard Browning fly this in person — he did a demo

> Browning's been doing a bunch of demos lately

How many other people have been trained to fly this thing? It's telling if it's no-one, that would mean that it's likely prohibitive to insure the danger.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#26

Post by [deleted] »

unwind wrote: post #7

Like other commenters, I agree that this is roughly equal parts awesome (because flying suits are awesome, and also because rapid response from medical professionals in the field is too), equal parts silly/gimmicky/unlikely. Also, why is the BBC feeling a need to put quotes around "fly" in the article? If a person is, like, lifting off from the ground, and moving through the air in a controlled fashion driven by jet…

[deleted]

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#27

Post by inglor_cz »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #16
arethuza wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my first impression as well - but I suspect people probably said the same thing the first time they saw a helicopter!

> I suspect people probably said the same thing the first time they saw a helicopter! Odds are that they would have been right - early helicopters probably weren't safe enough to use as ambulances. Well-run modern air ambulances are very safe edit: perhaps not, see replies (twin-engine helicopters with very experienced pilots) and can serve hundreds of patients per year, generally only serving very urgent cases of co…

A friend of mine has been an emergency doctor since 1990. A helicopter crashed with him on board once, killing the patient and causing him injuries that still can be seen after twenty years.

His comment: "We are ready to take risks. That is part of our work, just like cops' or soldiers'. Some missions are extra risky - industrial accidents or anything involved drugged or drunk people. We still take that risk."

IDK what the hazards of a first generation jetpack are, but odds are he would try it out eagerly.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#28

Post by wil421 »

Retric wrote: post #21
Neil44 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scrambling to reach someone over difficult terrain also carries risk to life. As does being unable to reach patients for 90 minutes whatever the emergency.

Helicopters can reach people in this location just fine in a reasonable time, and more importantly bring people back. Limiting your comparison to a 400,000+$ experimental jet suit vs walking is deceptive. If cost that much of an issue, a paraglider costs 1/10th as much and are likely much safer to operate. Or if getting a single person on site is all you need, tiny helicopters cost as low as 50k new.

A medivac out of the Grand Canyon can cost $15k. If you could use a $400k jet pack to stabilize someone until a ground crew gets there it could be a win for everyone.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#29

Post by ComodoHacker »

traceroute66 wrote: post #2

Seems to me like little more than a cheap publicity stunt for fundraising. I thought the number one rule for First Responders was not to cause injury (on the scene or en-route) to yourself or bystanders and not to cause further injury to the casualty. A "paramedic jet suit" just seems to be waiting for an opportunity for the paramedic to become a statistic as they fly head-first into rocky substance. Then I suppose w…

>a cheap publicity stunt

I bet it's anything but cheap.

Re: Great North Air Ambulance trials paramedic jet suit

#30

Post by itsoktocry »

Retric wrote: post #21
Neil44 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scrambling to reach someone over difficult terrain also carries risk to life. As does being unable to reach patients for 90 minutes whatever the emergency.

Helicopters can reach people in this location just fine in a reasonable time, and more importantly bring people back. Limiting your comparison to a 400,000+$ experimental jet suit vs walking is deceptive. If cost that much of an issue, a paraglider costs 1/10th as much and are likely much safer to operate. Or if getting a single person on site is all you need, tiny helicopters cost as low as 50k new.

>Helicopters can reach people just fine in a reasonable time

Try to imagine a world where helicopters work in some rescue situations, but not so well in others.

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