Fig. 1

Aerial floor plan projection. Panel a, interior design. Panel b, electric and gas pipeline system. Panel a. The right side is fitted with two rotating seats for neonatal transport team members; seats can rotate 90° towards the left. In front of the seats there is the box containing three oxygen cylinders (10 l/200 bars each); a stretcher and incubator support is fixed to the ambulance floor along the longitudinal axis of the health compartment; this device is equipped with shock absorber featuring efficient hydropneumatic system to reduce the effects of vibrations and impact during long transfers or transport on rough terrain. The support can move laterally to the right by 20 cm, allowing to place it near the rotating seats. The left ambulance wall unit is composed by the boxes containing three air compressed cylinders (10 l/200 bars each), then the neonatal defibrillator, the device for active controlled patient cooling, the blood gas analyzer, and finally the two separated refrigerated boxes to contain drugs and the transported patient’s placenta. Numbers into the square box indicate ambulance dimensions in centimeters. Red emergency transport bag is fastened to the ambulance floor, thus being immediately available (not shown in figure). Panel b. Medical gases (oxygen and medical air) are distributed throughout the ambulance via the pipeline distribution system to provide gases at the terminal units. Socket panel for medical gas is provided by valves and pressure gauges. A separated vacuum pipeline is available also. In the rear right part of the ambulance an air compressor is fitted out; this is a rescue device. An iNO cylinder is stored in the left rear part of the ambulance and a second iNO cylinder is transported by the incubator. A dedicated iNO pipeline works independently by oxygen and air pipelines. Above the cylinder box, in front of seats, there is a television reproducing the video signals from the video-camera positioned on the ambulance cockpit.