Surgical Bed Helps Military on the Battlefield

A lightweight but sturdy surgical table is designed to be used in nontraditional medical care settings, such as the battlefield or in the aftermath of a catastrophic event.

The Doak Table can be unfolded and fully ready for use in less than one minute, providing all the functions that a surgical table in a hospital can provide. It weighs between 18–20 kg, and has a small folded footprint of 100x30x40 cm. The rapidly deployed platform is stable and can hold up to 272 kg, while still being able to provide Trendelenberg and reverse-Trendelenberg patient positioning from either end, with up to 30 cm of elevation in 2.5 cm increments.


Other features include a working litter height of 70–92 centimeters; non-skid self-leveling feet; intravenous (IV) pole mounts built into all four corners; and side rails that can be mounted with the full range surgical table accessories, including up to three lightweight aluminum surgical instrument trays. The Doak Table is a product of Morzine Medical (Atlanta, GA, USA), and is provided with an antimicrobial vinyl fluid containment sheet, a quick mount folding shelf, and a pair of padded vertically and horizontally adjustable armboards with integral clamps.

“Having an operating table that could make a genuine difference in helping save soldiers’ lives was critically important to us,” said Mark Trimble, managing principal of Morzine Medical, explaining that the Doak Table is intended to be used by far-forward surgical teams that need to stabilize and resuscitate soldiers with wounds so severe they need immediate treatment. “They don’t have the luxury of time, so the critical issue we sought to address was, ‘how do we get the care closer to where they are.’”

In 2012, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery published a study that found over a 10-year period, roughly a quarter of US servicemen and women killed in action—about 1,000 soldiers—died from wounds that they might have survived with implementation of more advanced battlefield care and protocols.

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