Development and tests of a paediatric and neonatal immobilizer for ambulance transfers.

There are many stretcher models able to adequately achieve the spinal immobilization of adult patients during emergency transports but do not work well with children. A paediatric and neonatal immobilizer has been designed, constructed and tested. It is simple, radio-transparent, able to be adequately fastened to an ambulance, adaptable to a wide range of paediatric patient's size, providing a correct spinal immobilization without an excessive immobilization of the rest of the body, without impairing the aperture of an aerial way or the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and without reducing the accessibility of the medical personnel to the paediatric patient. It is able to be adapted to the size and injuries of the patient instead of adapting the position of the patient to the characteristics of the immobilizer. It can also be effectively fastened to the bed of an emergency helicopter, allowing the aerial transport of the paediatric patients.