Look up in the sky! It’s an ambulance!
You mean like the helicopter? Nope, we mean, paramedics literally flying to the rescue! Emergency responders and engineers in Britain said on Sept 29 that they have successfully tested “the world’s first jet suit paramedic”, which could transform how life-savers reach isolated casualty sites.
In the Lake District National Park, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) said it had helped flight-test the 1,050 bhp (brake horsepower) jet suit. This is actually pretty cool and it would definitely make some emergency situations more easier cause it’s not always convenient to fly and/or land a helicopter in certain places.
The trial saw Richard Browning, Gravity Industries’ founder who pioneered the technology, fly in 90 seconds from the bottom of a valley to a simulated casualty site (which you can see in the video below), compared to a 25-minute reaction time on foot.
In the video of the simulated exercise, you can see Browning, wearing a helmet, goggles and red flight suit equipped with a jet pack-style device, powering off the ground and zooming through the air just above the surface of the rocky terrain.
Based on its call-out data, Andy Mawson, GNAAS director of operations, said the charity chose the test location and had little idea how the technology would work in the real world. Mawson said that it was “important to still push the boundaries” at a time of strained healthcare provision due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We think this technology could enable our team to reach some patients much quicker than ever before. In many cases this would ease the patient’s suffering. In some cases, it would save their lives,” he said.
The successful test flight was the culmination of a year of discussion with Gravity Industries, said GNAAS, which responds to more than 1,500 call-outs a year and relies on donations to fund its operations.
The charity is said to explore the next steps in this cooperation. Browning said that having tested his “Gravity Jet Suit” with active emergency responders was “wonderful.”
Should Malaysia come up with something similar? It would be awesome to see our paramedics and Doctors fly around helping people, especially if those people can’t afford to go to the hospital or clinic. Plus, they wouldn’t have to worry about traffic in case of an emergency. Just fly away! Save people like actual superheroes!
