A medical transport device or stretcher or spinal board with facility to load or unload patient is disclosed. A spinal board, also known as a long spine board, a longboard, a spineboard or backboard, is a patient handling device used primarily during pre-hospital trauma care and is designed to provide rigid support during movement of a patient with suspected spinal or limb injuries. The spineboard (100) includes an upper panel assembly (102) having an upper panel (112) and an upper drive assembly (110) secured to a proximal end of the upper panel. A lower panel assembly (104) is detachably joined to the upper panel assembly by one or more latch assemblies (106) and one or more hinge assemblies (108). The lower panel assembly includes a lower panel (118) having a length less than a length of the upper panel assembly and a lower drive assembly (116) secured to a proximal end of the lower panel. An upper endless moveable belt (114) is wrapped about the upper panel assembly and is driven by the upper drive assembly. A lower endless moveable belt (120) is wrapped about the lower panel assembly and is driven by the lower drive assembly. The upper moveable belt and the lower moveable belt counter-rotate relative to one another. In use the distal end of the upper panel assembly of the spineboard may be positioned at the feet of the patient. When the motorized drive rollers are actuated, the upper and lower belts counter rotate relative to one another. More particularly, the lower belt moves toward the patient as it gains traction from the ground or surface where the patient lies, while the upper belt moves away from the patient, to load the patient thereon. Once the patient is loaded onto the upper panel assembly, the lower panel assembly can be detached from the upper panel assembly. As a result, the patient may be gently loaded and unloaded without lifting or manipulating the patient.
