You've seen it in countless movies -- the soldier carrying his injured comrade off the battle field over his shoulder.
Turns out that is exactly the wrong thing to do, and a Miamisburg company has patented an invention that will make rescuing injured military or emergency personnel much safer.
Dan Hassall, president and founder of Daytac -- a military and police tactical equipment research and development company -- says the company has invented new body armor that converts into a stretcher when necessary to safely transport injured military, police or firefighting personnel out of danger.
The stretcher is lightweight (only 10 ounces), flexible and is folded into the bullet-proof vest worn by the soldier or police officer until it is needed in an emergency.
"It's made to stabilize the spine and neck to prevent more injuries," says Hassall, who founded his company in 2004 after 15 years with the Dayton Police Department.
Hassall says he has heard of many emergency and military personnel who were further injured when they were moved hastily after being struck in the field, or who were left in harm's way because it was not safe to move them.
"They said if they had had something like (our stretcher) they could have saved lives."
Hassall says he is working with the U.S. Army and Navy to get the flexible stretcher added as standard equipment. He is also hoping many police and firefighting units will adopt it and he also plans to find international buyers for it.
"We could be looking at millions of vests in production eventually," says Hassall, who has contracted with manufacturers in Ohio to make the stretcher, and says he expects to add two to four employees in the near future as production expands. The company now has six.
The vest would add about $50 to the cost of a regulation $2,000 bullet proof best, he says.
Source: Dan Hassell, Daytac
Writer: Val Prevish