The U.S. Army Medical and Materiel Command and the U.S. Army Medical Transfer Office have signed an agreement with Morzine Medical LLC that gives the Atlanta-based startup the rights to manufacture and sell the SHRAIL, a litter rail system that enables the transformation of any standard NATO litter or stretcher into a highly functional surgical table or ICU bed.

Developed for far-forward surgery, the SHRAIL provides a standardized means to connect rails commonly found in operating rooms to stretchers and litters. The result is the ability to employ advanced capabilities in emergency, field, and transportation operation.

Morzine Medical a startup founded in 2013, is in the Advanced Technology  Development Center’s ATDC Educate program. Its Doak M4, a portable field surgical table, is used by all four branches of the U.S. military, including various special operations units, said Mark Trimble, Morzine Medical’s managing director. It also is being used by a number of military units in the armed forces of U.S. allies and by Samaritan’s Purse, an international humanitarian and disaster relief charity, he said.

“As the worldwide manufacturer for the Doak M4 Surgical Table, Morzine is a recognized trusted partner of the U.S. Armed Forces and we are proud to be working with the U.S. Army,” Trimble said. “We pride ourselves in delivering product solutions that meet and exceed the requirements of our clients. The Army’s SHRAIL is an innovative product. It’s a natural fit in our portfolio and will help to save lives.”

A second-year medical resident, Dr. Max Sirkin, a combat surgeon, is the co-inventor of the SHRAIL.

“You can transport the SHRAIL in a standard ruck sack to some of the most austere environments and it occupies less space in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle or Black Hawk Helicopter than traditional field tables,” Sirkin said. “I wanted to come up with a solution for deployment settings where a patient couldn’t be brought to a hospital for surgery or a critical care patient needed a ICU bed in the middle of nowhere.”

This product’s advancement into the market is the result of the MTT’s commitment to developing market-ready products using the approach the Army coined, as Assistive Technology Transfer. By providing small business and inventors assistance with CRADA support, R&D, prototyping, testing, evaluation, and more, MTT can speed the development and commercialization of DOD-relevant biomedical inventions, from concept through development.