S 61 helicopter as a mobile intensive care unit

Abstract

Since the Sikorsky S 61 Helicopter was introduced in the Royal Danish Air Force in 1966, more than 1800 missions have been carried out. Now 85% of the missions are for civilian purposes, and the Search and Rescue Service has to be considered to a wide extent as a king of Mobile Intensive Care Unit Service. The cabin in the S 61 Helicopter gives ample space for such observation and treatment of the patient. The results of 190 missions during the last 24 mth are evaluated. Patients suffering from heart lung, abdominal, or intracranial diseases, and from burns or poisoning represent about 70% of these missions. Since vital functions cannot be monitored in the usual way in a helicopter, it was necessary to develop a dependable and safe method for continuous observation of the heart function via an ECG on an oscilloscope. The described system is relatively simple and makes continuous ECG casette recordings during flight for telemetry, later study, and interpretation possible.