A NEW self-powered cooling device is being hailed as the much-needed solution to immediately treat heatstroke, a particular problem in high risk industries including agriculture.
Developed by CoolVest, the ERVest is able to cool a body from a fatal 42 degrees Celsius to the safe core temperature of 37 deg C in under an hour.
Prior to the ERVest, there has been no practical, immediate treatment for the often fatal condition of heatstroke.
Ambulance Victoria medical director Professor Stephen Bernard said the main danger of delaying treatment for heat related injuries was damage to vital organs or death.
"The reality is that we have many workers out there at real risk of heatstroke and there are currently few effective ways to treat them on-site," Professor Bernard said.
"In some remote communities, you simply cannot get medical help to a person within that time.
"The next best treatment option would be immersion in ice cold water, or placing ice packs over various parts of the body - but again, in a remote location, this is often not practical.
"To me, this is a crucial piece of equipment that should be on every work site, where it is likely the employee is exposed to heat, as part of an employer's duty of care to their workers' health.
"It should sit alongside your defibrillator, your fire extinguisher, first aid kit and so on."
CoolVest CEO Jonathan Weinberg said if every first responder vehicle had access to life-saving medical equipment like the ERVest, the 500-plus lives lost each year to heat-related conditions could potentially be saved.
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