Adult SCRAM™
Emergency airway preparation, designed before the first attempt.
Adult SCRAM™ is a structured emergency airway preparation system designed to make airway planning, equipment, drugs and decision support visible before clinical pressure peaks.
The clinical friction
Airway failure is not always caused by the airway. Sometimes the preparation fails first.
Emergency airway management is shaped before the first attempt: by how equipment is arranged, whether drugs are visible, how rescue options are staged, and how many decisions still need to be made under pressure.
The problem is not only whether the right equipment exists. It is whether the same preparation can be reproduced across clinicians, shifts and teams when the pressure rises.
Systemisation, standardisation, cognitive offloading, human factors and good governance are core principles in the design and philosophy of SCRAM™.
The system
A staged preparation system, ordered before the procedure starts.
Adult SCRAM™ is designed as a staged preparation system. The first working field is deliberately high contrast: large adult preparation sits to the left, small adult preparation to the right, with shared equipment running through the centre. The layout gives the team an immediate point of orientation before the procedure starts.
The secondary use area sits in the lid of the bag. It holds the grey filing system for tubes, rescue devices, basic airway adjuncts and the surgical-airway pouch, so rescue options stay close and visible without crowding the primary working field.
Colour is used as a landmark, not decoration. The yellow filing tab marks the surgical-airway kit; the blue filing tab marks the thoracostomy kit. A separate pull-out surgical airway kit dump provides the transition tool, prepared before a rescue plan is needed.
- Primary working field: large adult left, small adult right, shared equipment through the centre.
- Secondary lid filing system for tubes, rescue devices, airway adjuncts and the surgical-airway pouch.
- Colour landmarks: yellow tab for the surgical-airway kit, blue tab for the thoracostomy kit.
- Separate pull-out, weighted surgical airway kit dump for the rescue transition.
- Drug loops, checklist, barcode/RFID/NFC and tamper-evident options where local governance supports this.
Design moves
Three design decisions change the working conditions.
Adult SCRAM™ is not defined by the number of pockets, loops or labels. Its value is in the way those details are arranged around the clinical task.
A storage bag organises equipment. Adult SCRAM™ organises the work.
The primary working field
The first working field is deliberately high contrast. Large adult preparation sits to the left, small adult preparation to the right, and shared equipment runs through the centre.
This gives the team an immediate point of orientation, and a shared view of what is ready, before the procedure starts.
Secondary filing system and rescue landmarks
The secondary use area sits in the lid of the bag: a grey filing system holding tubes, rescue devices, basic airway adjuncts and the surgical-airway pouch. Rescue options stay close and visible without crowding the primary working field.
Colour is used as a landmark, not decoration. The yellow filing tab marks the surgical-airway kit; the blue filing tab marks the thoracostomy kit — so the team is not searching when the next problem is already predictable.
The pull-out surgical airway transition
The pull-out surgical airway kit dump is a separate transition tool: one weighted panel with two sides — yellow for Physician / MERT scalpel–finger–bougie technique, and blue for the CMT surgical-airway kit.
It can overlay the existing kit dump or detach to create a second working field, so the airway plan and the surgical-airway rescue plan can be prepared before they are needed.
Feature detail
Built around the work, not around storage.
The practical features of Adult SCRAM™ are there to support preparation, visibility, transition and local governance.
Adult SCRAM™ is designed for the space between insight and adoption — the point where a recognised clinical problem has to become a repeatable way of working.
This matters because adoption does not depend on a good idea alone. It depends on whether the idea can be repeated, checked, taught, stocked and governed without relying on one motivated individual.
The aim is not to replace clinical judgement or local governance. It is to give those decisions a physical structure that is easier to repeat.
Structured storage zones
Dedicated areas support a reproducible layout for laryngoscopes, rescue devices, syringes, filters, airway adjuncts and procedural equipment.
Stencilled kit dump
A stencilled working layout supports efficient pre-stocking, visual checking and repeatable setup before the procedure is required.
Example kit list
An example Adult SCRAM™ kit list is available to support local stocking, checking and implementation discussions. Final contents should be agreed through local clinical governance.
Download the example Adult SCRAM™ kit list (PDF)Pull-out surgical airway kit dump
A pull-out, weighted surgical airway kit dump supports a clear transition from failed intubation to planned surgical airway preparation. It is weighted to help prevent displacement by wind or exposed working conditions.
The yellow Physician / MERT panel supports scalpel–finger–bougie technique. The blue CMT panel supports the surgical airway kit.
Grey filing system (bag lid)
The lid holds a grey filing system for tubes, rescue devices, basic airway adjuncts and the surgical-airway pouch. Colour tabs act as landmarks: the yellow tab marks the surgical-airway kit, the blue tab marks the thoracostomy kit.
High-contrast indicators
High-contrast visual cues support fast recognition when attention is narrowed and fine detail is harder to process.
Bougie storage
Dedicated bougie storage supports rapid access and protects equipment from being buried inside the bag.
Drug loops
Integrated loops support secure, visible preparation of emergency medication where local policy and governance allow.
Checklist pouch
A high-visibility pouch supports RSI checklists, local protocols or crew prompts without adding clutter to the working surface.
Barcode, RFID and NFC options
Identification options can support local stock control, audit and equipment management systems.
Lockable zips
Lockable zip sliders support tamper-evident systems where required by local governance.
Wipe-clean material
Adult SCRAM™ is made from wipe-clean, durable material designed for operational environments where portability, cleaning and repeated use matter.
How do I clean SCRAM™?Rx line compatibility
Where current product configuration supports it, the front attachment system can be used with compatible Rx line components for emergency anaesthesia drug organisation.
Watch the Fidlock system demonstration →Designed for pressure
The layout has to work when attention narrows.
In emergency airway management, the team does not need a bag that stores everything somewhere. It needs a system that makes the next useful action easier to see, reach and do. Adult SCRAM™ is designed for high-acuity adult airway management across pre-hospital, retrieval, resuscitation and hospital environments. Its purpose is to move preparation upstream, before the procedure begins.
See the system in action
Watch the design logic and product setup.
The films show SCRAM™ as a preparation system rather than a storage product. They are provided as demonstrations of layout, workflow and design intent.
SCRAM™ system film
The wider design logic behind SCRAM™: systemised preparation, cognitive offloading and visible working conditions.
Watch the SCRAM™ system film →
Adult SCRAM™ demonstration
A closer look at Adult SCRAM™ and how the product supports airway preparation, surgical airway transition and governed practice.
Watch the Adult SCRAM™ demonstration →Ordering and origin
Invented from practice. Supplied through established routes.
Adult SCRAM™ was invented and designed by Paul Swinton and Neil Sinclair. Openhouse Products manufactures and distributes SCRAM™. The Resus Tailor provides a distributor route.
For pricing, availability and procurement, use the supplier links below.
Want the wider origin and evidence journey? Read the SCRAM Story for the design rationale, development path and clinical evidence behind SCRAM™.
Read the SCRAM Story →The clinical design origin of Adult SCRAM™.
Manufactures and distributes Adult SCRAM™ and the wider SCRAM™ range.
Visit Openhouse →A distributor route for Adult SCRAM™ and other SCRAM™ products.
Visit The Resus Tailor →Disclosure. Paul Swinton co-invented SCRAM™ with Neil Sinclair and has a commercial interest in the SCRAM™ system. Roles are as stated above — Openhouse Products manufactures and distributes; The Resus Tailor is a distributor.
Explore the SCRAM range
Different products. The same design logic.
The SCRAM™ range applies the same principle across different clinical tasks: make preparation visible, reduce avoidable load and support the team before pressure peaks.
Adult SCRAM™ is preparation made visible.
A designed airway system for teams who need the work organised before the clinical pressure peaks.