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INNOVATION RESOURCES

AlbacMat

Breakthrough:
A life-saving device for the swift removal of individuals from emergency situations where they can’t remove themselves. That is patients in hospitals and nursing homes who may be bedridden or otherwise incapacitated.

Inventor:
Allison Backhouse, Australia

Financial reward:
$5 million+

The Story:
AlbacMat

Allison Backhouse’s innovation is a rescue mat that can slide easily over all types of surfaces, including stairs, carpets, and concrete and is designed for one person to be able to use. It consists of a polypropylene flexible board that allows it to slide without building up heat. Dual straps keep the patient secure and there’s a foot rest pocket for comfort. It can evacuate immobile people from nursing homes, hospitals, schools, planes, trains, and awkward places where stretchers have difficulties, such as narrow staircases.

Prior to Backhouse’s brainwave there was simply no easy way of evacuating bed ridden patients in emergency situations.

The Start of the Journey

Backhouse had never planned on being an inventor until her nursing home employers sent her on a fire training seminar. Here she discovered to her utter astonishment that there were only makeshift ways of evacuating elderly and infirm patients. The fire warden chairing the seminar had told his audience that in emergency situations they should evacuate their charges the best way they can. When Backhouse asked him to explain the best method he replied “the best way you can.” There was no mention of lift-assisting devices, no product discussion, and no word on any tried and tested methods that had served the nursing profession well over generations. In short the modus operandi in these situations was to improvise.

One method that nurses did use was to tie the corners of bed sheets together and drag the patient out. But this was far from ideal because the floors in many hospitals and nursing homes are covered with carpet which sheets do not slide over easily. It’s not a comfortable ride.

Product Search

Naturally, Backhouse assumed that there would be a product somewhere in the market place, but after a fruitless search she decided to develop her own method. So committed was the then 23 year-old that she gave up employment to work on the innovation full-time.

Her first task was to find a material that could smoothly slide over carpet. A second point of consideration was that the friction heat generated mustn’t come through to the patient. Although she found many materials that could fulfill the first criteria, none could prevent friction burns. Then after about ten months she came across polypropylene. It’s a tough and flexible thermoplastic polymer which acts as an insulator and can absorb any bumps and shocks that occur during transit. She actually realized that it was the material she needed after standing on a loose piece and doing the splits. What followed was an impromptu test demonstration with Backhouse using the thread of material like a skateboard and sliding all over the floor. But this wasn’t the end of the invention journey as at least ten prototypes followed to fulfill the other criteria that Backhouse wanted for her rescue mat. It had to be compact, lightweight, and small enough so that storage would not be a problem.

The polypropylene board was customized so that it was rigid when in use but could crease and easily roll up like a sleeping bag for storage. It is wider at the shoulder end and tapers down to the feet to reduce the amount of material needed whilst still retaining maximum comfort for the patient.

Off to Market

AlbacMat took less than two years to get to market and Backhouse achieved this feat without any prior knowledge of inventing or the manufacturing process. Once she had her idea and knew that there was a gap in the market waiting to be filled she put all her efforts into reaching out to create a network of business contacts who could help her to understand everything from patents to production. Once she had a product she was happy with Backhouse then started to generate sales by targeting specialist markets and niche groups such as nursing homes and hospitals. It’s now on the recommended shopping list of many regional health authorities and is sold in several countries including Australia, UK, US, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.

Life Saver

For Backhouse the most rewarding part of the whole process has been that she has created a new product that can save lives. And having travelled the entire route from novice inventor with a neat idea to successful business woman with a much needed product, she believes that anyone with a good idea can turn it into reality. “It takes a lot of hard work and a belief in your product and yourself to make it work. No one is going to do it for you, you need to have the drive, passion and commitment, and be prepared to take risks!!¨

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