Ergonomic Designs in SCBA's and Backpacks

 Unprecedented Concepts LLC  is a small company that creates innovative designs with the goal of increasing safety and improving performance . The President of UC and innovator of the ASMF is retired Phoenix Fire Captain  Thomas Saggio that served 35 years in the Fire Service for a large metropolitan City. 

With technical input and support by retired Phoenix Fire Department SCBA Technician Steve Shuksta, We are  confident and excited about the potential benefits of this design and billions of dollars saved on Industrial claims.  These new patents consist of a revised Back Frame originally designed for firefighters but it became evident that it would benefit the military as well as any outdoor enthusiasts that may carry a heavy load. This patent design is called the ADVANCED SPINAL MOBILIY FRAME (ASMF).  This came about as myself and many of my colleges in the fire service have experienced severe back injuries that often involved the low spine and required surgery. This is a revolutionary ergonomic design that complements the mobility of the spine      

How is this different than traditional backpacks? Traditional backpacks and various back frames consist of a frame that has a rigid solid design that actually splints and restricts movement and functionality of the spine, thus actually splinting the spine like a cast. As a result, this restricts the vertebrae and discs that the frame lies over or parallel to the spine. This allows lower back and neck areas to function with a range of motion that the other discs and vertebrae along the Thoracic area cannot.  Being that the majority of the spine is restricted this puts the lower Lumbar area in particular under increased stress. Normally with normal walking and movement stressors of such activity is distributed along the entire spine. With minimizing any movement of the upper lumbar and thoracic spine, the lower spine absorbs much more stress as it has to compensate for the lack of function of the spine in general. This creates increased stress to the low spine with normal walking due to this restriction, we further compound these stressors by activities of tripping, stumbling falling and any other activity.  The areas of most common injuries are L4-L5 and L5-S1 of the lower lumbar area of the spine. I myself have had several surgeries on these two discs that were paid and directly related to my job.   

This new design consists of horizontal plates that run perpendicular to the spine. Each plate is attached to the one above and below with metal cables that allow increased movement of the entire spine, thus distributing the work load along the entire spine so that the lumbar area of the back is not isolated. There are two different models The ASMF-SB that consists of the frame with adapter plates for use with traditional SCBA bottles (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and the ASMF-MB for multiple bottles or Military and Backpacking.

These designed frames ergonomically work with the body. In doing so, this design allows the vertebrae to function as they are intended to with limited restrictions of movement This allows the axial stressors and loading to be distributed along the spine as opposed to being centered on the lumbar area of the spine                

 You may ask, what does an old Fire Captain know about designing a new SCBA frame. As well as being a firefighter and Fire Captain, I spent 30 years as a Paramedic and instructor. As a medic I was educated in physiology and mechanisms of injuries, often testifying as an expert witness in court regarding such issues. I also spent years in Special Operations.   

This came about as myself and many of my colleges in the fire service had experienced severe back injuries that often involved the low spine and required surgery. Not only in the large metropolitain city I worked but across the country, causing pain and suffering, ending careers and costing billions of dollars in medical procedures every  year. I began seeing a pattern of men and women compaining of low back pain after wearing the traditional SCBA at fires, the predominate injuries to L3 to S1 of the low spine; I applied my knowledge of mechanism of injuries and  saw that the SCBAs utilized, although a great benifit in the Fire Service, actually was contributing to these injuries. Thus a   a revolutionary ergonomic design  came to life that complements the mobility of the spine.   Then as previously mentioned I contracted Steve Shuksta with his technical specialty pertaining to current SCBAs. He had  over 20 years’ experience with the maintenance and service of various SCBAs. and contributed to the technical aspects that complemented the design.