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SALT LAKE CITY — A small device is clearing the way for ambulances, and it could make a world of difference — especially in the case of a major disaster or attack in Salt Lake City.
The idea is fairly simple: to give paramedics a green light all the way through some of the busiest parts of town. It's all about getting people through those emergency room doors as soon as possible.
Even when the sirens blare, drivers don't always get out of the way. So now, some 35 intersections will open up and turn green at the moment emergency responders need it most.
Images from the bombings at the Boston Marathon portrayed the makings of a living nightmare.
"I can't even imagine what it would be like to work in that situation," Troy Madsen, an ER physician at the University of Utah Hospital.
For patients who have suffered injuries, severe injuries, quite honestly every second counts.
–Dr. Troy Madsen, University of Utah Hospital
While his experience runs the gamut Madsen has never worked on a large-scale emergency such as the one that played out Monday.
"It would be like working in a war zone," he said.
Madsen said a new device called an opticom receiver — placed at intersections all over the east side of Salt Lake City — will move ambulances to the ER faster, both in day-to-day emergencies and larger events.
"For patients who have suffered injuries," said Madsen, "severe injuries, quite honestly every second counts."
Emitters on emergency vehicles will send a signal of high-frequency flashes to a receiver at each intersection — turning the light green. The receivers will open up routes to both University of Utah Hospital and Primary Children's Medical Center.
"If we can eliminate any cross traffic or any type of a high-risk situation, that's what we want to have done," said Chris DeLaMare with Gold Cross Ambulance.
Even seconds can make all the difference for patients with heart attacks, strokes and severe trauma.
"It gets people to us more efficiently, more safely," said Madsen.
This ultimately gives doctors more of the crucial time they need to change and save lives.
The opticom devices are about $5,000 each. They were paid for by University of Utah Hospital, which partnered with the Utah Department of Transportation to cover installation costs.
