By Angel MedFlight Contributor
Angel MedFlight prides itself on being a leader and innovator in the air ambulance industry. And we are committed to providing patient care that goes beyond industry standards. A large component of that care is having the best equipment aboard our medically equipped jets. One of the most essential and advanced pieces of medical equipment on an Angel MedFlight air ambulance is the ZOLL Propaq MD heart monitor and defibrillator.
The ZOLL Propaq MD is arguably the most high-tech piece of medical equipment aboard our medical flights. The device was designed with the military in mind and can handle the demands of battlefield medicine including air transport and evacuation. It’s relatively light (about 17 pounds fully loaded), it’s compact and can monitor all of a patient’s physiological parameters.
Having the lightest equipment is essential on an aircraft and the Propaq MD is 40 percent lighter than similar monitor/defibrillators. According to ZOLL, the ultra-lightweight device combines, “the well accepted and proven features of the Propaq monitors with the clinically superior therapeutic capabilities of ZOLL defibrillation and non-invasive pacing technologies.”
Angel MedFlight Clinical Logistics manager Troy Miller says the Propaq MD can monitor three invasive pressures and two temperature channels. The Propaq MD, says ZOLL, is the only FDA-cleared airworthy defibrillator to provide monitoring of the three invasive pressures necessary for treating critical patients during long transports. Being a worldwide air ambulance provider, Angel MedFlight enjoys the Propaq MD’s long-range capabilities with its battery system and AC power charger. The device runs for six hours on a single battery charge.
According to a ZOLL press release, development of the Propaq MD “was a joint undertaking between the Department of Defense and cooperative arrangement between Welch-Allyn (a manufacturer of medical diagnostic devices) and ZOLL.” It meets an unprecedented number of military and international standards when it comes to durability, environmental operation and storage extremes.
Miller says the Propaq MD is much lighter than its predecessors. “Older machines would have resistors in all the cables used for monitoring to keep vibrations and interference going through the cables into the machine. Sometimes aircraft engines will affect equipment to where you can’t get the best blood pressure or EKG readings,” Miller says. But the ZOLL Propaq can withstand vibrations and radio interference.
It’s rugged, durable and reliable. The Propaq MD is just one of the many high-tech pieces of medical equipment on board an Angel MedFlight jet that make this company the one to trust when choosing an air ambulance provider.
