Doctors think that a new medical device might revolutionize trauma care. And the Pelvic Sling is not a a complex or expensive piece of equipment.

Roger Rolofson moves his 270-pound frame with ease now but just a few months ago, the 42-year-old construction worker lay flat on his back after a 3,000 pound patio roof collapsed on top of him.

Roger's pelvis was fractured in two places but paramedics were able to stabilize the life-threatening injury with a Pelvic Sling.

Biomedical engineer Michael Bottlang designed the low-tech padded belt that sports an ingenious mechanical buckle.

Bottlang says, "You pull on it and as soon as you reach the proper predetermined force, it will lock. And if you pull any harder, it won't do anything to the patient. So it's a safe and effective intervention."

Before the sling, there was no reliable way to treat pelvic fractures until the patient reached the ER. Twenty-five percent of those patients bled to death.

Dr. Steven Made is an orthopedic surgeon who says, "The sling is designed to be able to be applied to the patient before they get to the hospital to control the hemorrhage they can have from their pelvis because you can lose a, a lot of blood. You can lose your entire blood volume just through a fractured pelvis."

Roger remembers the paramedics cinching the pelvic sling around his hips.

He says, "As they were securing the belt, I could feel everything being brought in together and where I expected there to be serious pain, there was just slight discomfort and a great feeling of security because I could feel that everything had been brought back into place."

Roger's getting his life back together with daily physical therapy and plans to return to work soon.

The pelvic sling was developed by engineers and surgeons at Legacy Health System in Portland, Oregon. It costs just $69 and 7,500 have been sold so far. Even the U.S. military is thinking about adding the pelvic sling to its arsenal of emergency medical gear.