The system is to be used for the air transport of newborn babies who require emergency care in Ireland and abroad. Three years in development, the Elevating Transporter+ (ET+), was required to meet an exact set of criteria to enable it to operate in varying and demanding environments. It will ultimately help to save lives for the national neonatal transport service based in Dublin.

A trolley that serves multiple purposes

ET+ has been specifically designed for the Irish market, aiming to serve the neonatal air transport needs of the whole of Ireland.

The National Neo-Natal Transport Programme (NNTP) in Ireland covers a population of 4.25 million with around 620 critical care transports a year. NNTP was searching for a design for a single trolley that could be used in a variety of scenarios. It has been developed to meet very specific criteria to ensure it fits different ambulance designs, both now and in the future, as well as providing a solution for loading the NNTP’s air transport incubator system in all the aircraft variants used for neonatal transfers throughout Ireland.

Paraid solves a challenging problem

Ann Bowden, Neo-Natal Transport Program Co-ordinator, based at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, explained: “While we have air certified solutions for securing our incubator system in all these aircraft in flight, we needed a common solution for loading it in the varying aircraft types and also its carriage by road at either end of the flight.

“Paraid has done an amazing job in solving the problem of delivering a trolley that would meet all our needs. At times, it seemed as though the challenges would be impossible to overcome, but the design team has put an exceptional amount of work into coming up with the right solution. It’s genius, and everyone is so impressed with what they have done.”

Steve Jinks, Product Development Manager at Paraid, added: “We specialize in designing and manufacturing complex transport equipment to support critically ill patients. It is testament to the collaborative approach taken to developing its design and functionality that we have been able to create such a unique and complex trolley that will help to save young lives in Ireland for many years to come.”