Advances in Ambulance Tech

In a medical emergency the first minutes of response time can be crucial. Much of that time is spent on the way to hospitals, and technology is making the ride more efficient.

Although ambulances don't have all the resources of an E-R, technology is giving paramedics more tools to save lives.

In this world, every second counts. Technology at at Care Ambulance headquarters is literally saving lives.

Technicians routinely work off computer aided dispatch systems.

"The CAD system takes the place of all paper. So when a call comes in from the fire department, it drops right into our dispatchers screens" explains Bob Barry, Director of Public Relations at Care Ambulance.

GPS figures out which ambulance is closest to the scene and dispatches it.

Paramedic Brent Gable said, "All the information will drop directly into the Garmin, thus allowing the EMT to not have to get a map book to guide themselves in."

Brent explains "Once they arrive on scene, the call will drop into the tablet".

Specialized tablets create a paperless record, easily sending information from the field to waiting doctors.

"I can actually go in and document on a patient image exactly where the injury was and exactly what was bothering the patient when we transported them to the hospital" said Brent.

Reponse times are down, and patient survival rates are up.

Brent says, "All of this allows us to be more efficient and respond to the patien'ts needs much faster."

Across the nation mobile medical devices are helping too. Mechanical CPR machines free up paramedics hands, and bone injection guns deliver medication faster.

Army deveolped advanced gauzes improve clotting for less bleeding, and hand held ultrasound machines give paramedics a better look.

This technology doesn't come cheap, the equipment is expensive, and so is the training, but the impact on lives is priceless.