Prototype device helps untrained bystanders save lives
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 20th 2006 6:24AM
posted Oct 20th 2006 6:24AM
We'll be the first to admit, if we were a featured character in a prime-time soap surrounding cataclysmic events, we'd be killed off early in the first season -- we're just no good to anybody in emergency situations. Now we've got a chance to make it all the way to a sophomore slump, with this new "Just-In-Time Support" (JITS) device which provides audio and video instructions to untrained bystanders (besting that audio-only version from Philips), allowing them to administer CPR and diagnose the victim. The JITS, which is being developed by some University of Utah researchers, is currently a prototype, but in test runs on dummy victims, untrained users managed to match American Heart Association guidelines while using the device. The kit includes defibrillator pads and an anesthesia mask, along with a video screen that gives live feedback in regards to what actions to take -- sounds like a good time with or without an emergency to attend to.[Via medGadget]
Why would you use an anesthesia mask on someone who you are trying to WAKE UP ? Must be oxygen/air mask.
Hate to say it, but this technology has been around for years... Walk around in a mall food court and look for one of these autodefibrillators hanging on the wall... When turned on, it will provide verbal insturctions and determine on its own if the individual needs to be shocked. Even my high school had these 8 years ago.
This is a more step-by-step visual aid rather than the "talking" AED's which have been around for some time. Does the Good Sumaritan Law still work if you don't have proper CPR certifications???
Maybe you missed the part where engadget credits the audio version but was talking about the video version that has had a much higher success rate.
The Good Sumeritan Laws in Texas applies to anyone trying to help. As long as the person is unconscious(they're technically dead if you're using an AED), then you have their 'implied consent' to help. GS laws are different in every state, so you should definitely CYA and read up.