An economic alternative for the conventional ambulances for mass health care. 2. Design conceptualisation and detailing

A patient in need of emergency medical aid who could return to normal conditions may easily die, if he/she is denied quick medical care and transport from site to hospital. A well trained, equipped and organised ambulance service can render treatment to critically ill patients and evacuate them from the home/roadside while continuing treatment during the journey in an ambulance. Lack of accessibility and affordability are the main obstacles against improving the existing ambulance service. The three wheeler in the autorickshaw and the tempo forms are still the mainstay of urban/semi-urban transport. They are cheap to buy, simple to service and economical to operate. The proposed design based on the mechanical autorickshaw would carry a patient and an attendant besides the driver. The activities involved in the ingress/egress of the patient was given serious consideration and design solutions were worked out for simplifying them. A problem analysis of the three wheelers was made and measures devised to rectify them in the proposed design. Housing the patient in the head-up/head-down/relaxed sitting posture was achieved by having a foldable seat beneath the collapsible stretcher. Provisions were also made to accommodate critical equipment and accessories.