A new device can prolong survival under snow
08.10.2025
A clinical trial conducted in the Dolomites in March 2023 demonstrated the effectiveness of a new wearable device, integrated into a backpack, in extending survival time under snow during an avalanche. Twenty-four volunteers were buried under fifty centimetres of snow; half of them used a functioning device that draws air from the snow and pumps it into the facial area, while the other half (control group) had a non-functioning device. In the control group, seven people reached an oxygen saturation below 80% on average after 6.4 minutes, whereas no one in the group with the functioning device requested to stop the experiment, which lasted up to the maximum 35 minutes.
The results, published in "JAMA," indicate that the Safeback SBX device can quintuple survival time under snow, providing a significant advantage for rescue operations. The device, already commercially available, exploits the porosity of snow to extract oxygen-rich air and pump it in front of the nose and mouth using an electric pump, up to 150 litres of air per minute for a maximum of 90 minutes. This airflow allows survival beyond 35 minutes, despite the carbon dioxide emitted while breathing.
"No device can replace prevention, which is the main tool for saving lives in the mountains, but our clinical trial demonstrates that this device is very effective in prolonging survival under snow and gaining time in rescue operations," explain Frederik Eisendle and Giacomo Strapazzon, the main authors of the paper and part of the Eurac Research team that led the tests in collaboration with the University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital (Norway), the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps – CNSAS, the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF (Switzerland), the University Hospital of Cologne (Germany), the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria), and the University of Padua, with logistical support from the Alpine School of the Guardia di Finanza and staff from the ski facilities at the end of Passo Rolle.
The trial conducted by Eurac Research in collaboration with various international institutions offers encouraging results for the dissemination of devices to improve the safety of winter activities in the mountains; however, prevention remains the main tool for saving lives in the mountains.
