The innovation: transport in intensive care between hospitals is most often carried out with ambulances and standard stretchers, despite the imposing medical equipment that accompanies the patient.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
The Quebec company Technimount System has developed a system that attaches to most stretchers, on which care and monitoring devices can be securely hung.
Additionally, the Xtension Pro Assistant-CCT slides out to clear the sides of the stretcher when transferring the patient to or from a bed.
Who
Carl Bouchard accumulated 15 years of experience in the sale of medical devices when, at the request of a friend who worked in the emergency services, he designed a small universal base where different types of medical devices could be fixed. , both on board ambulances and in hospitals.
To manufacture and market it, Carl Bouchard founded Technimount System in 2013.
The interest was immediate. “It was a bit of a brutal start, even. I would say that for almost five or six years, we never called any clients. Customers came to us. »
Quickly, the Quebec company became the supplier of North American ambulance manufacturers, who liked the versatility of the device.
It is in this spirit that its design team has tackled a new challenge: transporting on a stretcher all the equipment that accompanies the inter-hospital transfer of patients in intensive care.
We had noticed that equipment often broke down because it was poorly installed. The nursing staff often had difficulty seeing the screens, which is very critical for monitoring the progress of patients. Unfortunately, there are no companies that make this kind of equipment out there. We transform standard stretchers into critical care transport stretchers.
Carl Bouchard, CEO of Technimount System
The device
The Xtension Pro Assistant-CCT system is like a bridge spanning the stretcher. On this bridge are fixed different bases and mounting plates that will accommodate the various medical devices.
Since this new system incorporates Technimount’s original base system, hospitals can easily adapt their specific medical devices to it.
The bridge attaches to the stretcher frames using devices that require no drilling or other modification.
The bridge is mounted on sliders in the longitudinal axis of the stretcher. Using two lockable handles, the attendant can therefore pull the arch to completely release the stretcher.
“It makes transferring the patient from the bed to the stretcher much easier for the clinical staff,” observes Carl Bouchard.
The layout of the mounting plates for the medical devices and the ergonomics of the entire system are the result of close and long collaboration with the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal. “Users gave us a lot of ergonomic constraints to develop the product, because their requirement was the patient,” he adds.
The bridge is easily detached from its attachment system to the stretcher to be handled independently. Hospital center personnel can therefore safely install the devices and connect solutes, arterial lines and other electrodes to a bridge placed on the patient’s bed.
“When the ambulance service arrives, the patient is ready to leave right away and the transfer can be done more safely. »
Light but strong
The deck is mostly made of aluminum, with some elements of acetal (an engineering plastic) and urethane.
“Obviously, we’re talking about solidity and lightness,” says Carl Bouchard.
Complying with the SAE J3043 standard, the device must withstand a deceleration of 26 G.
Technimount System manufactures some of the components of its products itself, subcontracts others, and does the final assembly in its Quebec factory. The company employs or employs around sixty people.
The future
The system is already on the market. Unsurprisingly, the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal was the first to acquire it.
“There is another very large center in Quebec which should be unveiled shortly, and there are a few online which have already shown very great interest”, informs the president.
The company wants to use it as the spearhead of an offensive on the American market, where its other products already have a good reputation.
“Commercial efforts will be put forward to push this product more and more,” he says. “It is intended for all hospitals in North America that have a unit or department that performs critical care transport. In truth, all major hospitals technically have the capacity to buy this. »