« Completed Open Innovation Challenges

Emergency Rescue Stretcher/Carrier Design Challenge

(to be equally divided between members of the winning team)

CompletedDec-27-14$5,000

There are many circumstances when an injured patient must be quickly removed from a dangerous environment such as a conflict zone or disaster site. Pararescue Jumpers (PJ) must bring all needed equipment with them and be able to perform in any environment (rocky, swampy, desert, wet, snow- or ice-covered, urban; in all weather conditions) to quickly stabilize the injured and evacuate them to safety. The faster the patient can get to a care facility the better their survival rate.

This challenge is to design an alternative stretcher/carrier that is compatible with the RiteRescue tactical harness system and provides an improvement on the current prototype design. The stretcher/carrier must be able to allow a single PJ operator to secure and transport a 250 lbs. patient to a safe extraction point. The stretcher/carrier will have to be light yet durable, able to be stowed compactly yet be set up quickly and the patient secured rapidly, and permit the PJ operator to carry/drag the loaded stretcher/carrier over many different types of terrains. Designs will be evaluated on durability, weight, minimum storage volume, and ease of assembly.

Designs should be submitted in CAD format, specifically in SolidWorks or any format that can be converted to SolidWorks (e.g., AutoCAD). Drawings are an acceptable format for submission but will take longer to evaluate.