As part of our continuing commitment to providing the best possible service for the patients who use our services, Elite Medical Transport has developed a custom fleet of ambulances and other medical transport vehicles. Since 2015, we have partnered with Osage, a custom ambulance builder, to create ambulances and other medical transport vehicles that perform like a heavy duty truck, without the heavy duty truck ride.
The need for a smooth ride is especially critical when transporting neonatal patients. One of the major hazards with neonatal patients is spontaneous brain bleeds. Rough suspension during transport significantly increases this risk.
The challenge of accomplishing the goal of smooth transport rides focused on the suspension of heavy duty vehicles. The suspension on heavy duty trucks is typically very tight, which is useful in transporting really heavy payloads. But the trade-off is a very rough ride that can present a real hazard to critically ill or injured patients. What we needed was a heavy duty truck that would ride like a car – but those vehicles didn’t exist.
The solution was an innovation called liquid spring technology. Normally, vehicle springs or shocks work with water, which cannot be compressed below its actual volume. Liquid spring technology substitutes water with silicone, which can actually be compressed 6 percent below its actual volume. The system works with a computer that pushes compressed silicone through a pump into the suspension system at a rate of 100 times per second. The computer also senses G-Force and compensates accordingly. The result is a balanced, smooth ride. How smooth? A study conducted with NASA showed an 80 percent decrease in spontaneous brain bleeds among neonatal patients transported in medical vehicles using liquid spring technology.
Elite Medical Transport is now installing liquid spring technology in all of our medium and heavy duty vehicles, to ensure the smoothest possible transport for all our patients, from neonatal patients to centenarians entering their second century of life. We are also installing power hydraulic lifts for stretchers on our medical transport vehicles – no more heavy lifting for hard-working EMTs, along with a reduced risk of accidents while transferring patients. We are also installing 360 degree cameras and front and rear dash cameras to further enhance safety.
