Why it’s Breakthrough: It’s a device that allows upper-floor workers safe descent in an emergency by reeling their way at a moderately quick but safe pace down the exterior of the building.

The Story: Kevin Stone watched the Twin Towers burn during 9/11. He, like the rest of us, saw the horror of people jumping from windows, and believed there was a better way. He recognized that the existing ways people were rescued from tall buildings or high places didn’t make sense, so he came up with a device that’s based on the concept of the fishing reel and a harness anyone weighing 30 to 400 pounds could easily slip into.

The Rescue Reel was born.

The Rescue Reel is a very simple concept. The user anchors the Kevlar end of the device to something strong and secure, like between a door and its frame, and they step into the one-size-fits-all harness. Then, they simply go out the window and rappel down. The Rescue Reel can work from buildings as high as 100 stories tall, and no special training is required. In fact, the device will automatically lower the user at about six feet a second or approximately 12 seconds a story. Plus, the Rescue Reel fits conveniently in a file-sized drawer.

What really makes the Rescue Reel work is the centrifugal braking system that automatically lowers the user downward. The cord unwinds from a spool just like a fishing reel, but the difference here is that the spool is incorporated into a brake. As the shaft spins, the force of the person descending causes the braking system to engage and slow the person down. And in the unlikely event that the automatic brake fail, a manual backup brake is attached to the handle, so the user can easily regulate the downward descent.

Stone, an Orthopaedic Surgeon and inventor who lives in San Francisco has completed testing of the Rescue Reel and a commercial version of it should be available in 2010 for about $1,500, though speculation is that the price should drop substantially once mass production gets underway. And that should make it much more sensible for building owners and/or tenants to afford.