Tuesday, May 11, 2010

ERT/ EMS/ EMT torch and pupil gauge

I use the Fenix LD2 as my current "every day" torch - it's no longer available and has been replaced with the better LD20 (click here for the amazon listing). The torch has multiple power levels, and can be switched between them quite easily (some via the push button at the rear, others through turning the bezel)
The main appeals of the LD2 series is that the battery life is great compared to the brightness, and the torch is nearly indestructible.(These comments are compared to the 4 other LED, and 3 bulb torches I used in the hunt to find a torch which fulfilled my needs at work) The battery life (in the lower power modes) is amazing, the only problem I've found is stopping other people from "borrowing" it.

I was trying to find a torch for my first-aid kit, and was looking hard at this type of torch. (image taken from a medical supply mob in UK) to clip on my kit, but most I could find contained sealed battery setups, and would be treated as disposable. Not an issue, but in my case the torch might only be needed a few times and the last thing I need is to find the heat has deteriorated the battery.



The main difference between the torch I carry everyday (in lowest power mode), and the medical torch is the pupil gauge printed on the side.
So my solution (for now) is to make up a pupil chart, and have it sitting in my observations notebook, and a strip copy laminated and carried in the pack.
Googling for a printable pupil chart was interesting... millions of  hits, but the only one I found I could download was a PDF Neurological diagnosis flowchart. To make the chart more useable to my needs, I captured the chart from the PDF, and then pasted it into a BMP (Bitmap). Then it was a simple case of copying parts of the image and pasting the pieces in the arrangement that suits my needs.



The BMP file is shown above, and you can download the bitmap chart here

I copied the BMP into a word document so I could print it out at 100%. Download the printable chart here as a word document, should anyone else need this file for similar purposes.

I'll be posting some details on my first aid kit soon, I've built the kit to reflect the incidents I've attended, and what I think I need for responding when I arrive at those incidents. The kit is built from parts purchased on Ebay, and taken from my supplies of kits at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 comments:

  1. I've been searching and searching for a pupil size chart. Thanks so much!

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    Replies
    1. Christy, you're welcome - I figure if something took me a long time to find or discover, why force someone else through the same heartache? - simply tell the world, and let them use their time to discover something new - if we were all stuck re-inventing the wheel, we'd have never found time to fly.

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  2. Thank you so much! The pupil chart will go great with my 4sevens pen light. http://www.foursevens.com/
    Any chance you get get access to a good 0-10 pain scale? The only ones that are online are either very small or in bad image quality.

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