CPR
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The CPR dummy of the future can piss blood
This isn't the CPR Dummy you learned to do basic first aid on. This is a robot that'll push medical training to the extreme.
Geolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMT
When you go into cardiac arrest, you've got about ten minutes to live if you don't receive medical attention, and the average emergency response time is seven minutes after you dial 911. In an effort to get folks help more quickly and leverage the iPhone's life saving abilities, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District in California has created the FireDepartment app to enlist the help of the citizenry in fighting the (unfortunate) results of a lifetime of eating tacos. The iPhone app -- Android and BlackBerry versions are currently in the works -- allows emergency dispatchers to notify users via text of a nearby crisis. For those feeling heroic, the app displays a map with the victim's location and any nearby automatic electronic defibrillators, and provides "resuscitation reminders" in case you're the CPR teddy-toting type. For now, the service only works in San Ramon but there are plans to port it for use elsewhere. That means we can look forward to a nation of amateur EMTs, which makes us thankful that mouth-to-mouth is no longer a part of CPR. Check the video after the break to see the app in action.
Cradle developed which turns the iPhone into a CPR device
Medical uses for the iPhone are nothing new – an app has even saved a man's life – but now Ivor Kovic, an emergency physician from Croatia, has developed a device which turns the iPhone into a physical tool. The device, which is only in the prototype stage now, allows for an iPhone or iPod touch to be inserted into a plastic cradle that assists an individual in performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR (also known as 'basic life support' in most of the world). The user would open the PocketCPR app (free) [iTunes link] and place the iPhone into the cradle. The cradle allows for greater leverage during CPR, thus reducing administrator fatigue, while also allowing unobstructed views of the the CPR app which is giving audio and visual commands to the user. Dr. Kovic says that his device isn't necessarily intended for non-medical professionals who might only have to perform CPR once in their lives. He sees its primary advantage in hospital settings where doctors perform CPR on a daily basis. Also, the device could be useful in schools and businesses as an inexpensive way to help people perform CPR correctly. You can find out more about the cradle at Dr. Kovic's blog. Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved. To find a class in your area, in the US contact the American Heart Association. In the UK contact Bart's City Life Savers.
Caption contest: iPhone as a CPR device
Alright, we'll leave all the zingers for you and our mercurial staff to deliver, and just use this space to dish some info on the hardware. Ivor Kovic, an emergency physician from Croatia, has recently demoed a new iPhone cradle that turns the already multifunctional handset into a CPR assistance device. By using an app titled Pocket CPR and the built-in accelerometer, he can get audio and visual feedback to tell him if he's doing it correctly, while his basic (but awesome) cradle allows for longer CPR sessions if necessary. Check out the video after the break, then hit the comments with your finest witticisms. Paul: "Come on Luke Wilson's Career, stay with me now, you're not going to die on me!" Darren: "Man, I could really get a better look at what's going on if this thing had a 9.7-inch IPS panel..." Chris: "Everyone is either dying or staying alive these days, and we began to ask ourselves: is there room for something in the middle?" Nilay: "He then died." Vlad: "Our other cradle also measures rhythm and depth, though its purpose isn't entirely medicinal." Andy: "A rare case where a lack of multitasking is actually helpful to the task on hand." Thomas: "Can you stop dying for a second, I have to take this call." Joe: "This actually adds an intriguing level of complexity to Super Monkey Ball 2." Richard Lai: "Come on... COME ON!! Wait a tick... AT&T? No wonder it isn't working. Dammit." Tim: "Looks like this guy's heart (puts on sunglasses)... has dropped its last call." Yeeeaaaaaahhhh...
Wii remote enrolled in student-developed CPR training program
Taking a more passive approach with the Wii remote than, say, operating a 15-ton grapple or saving your friends on Tatooine, a team of biomedical engineering undergraduates at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have been developing a companion CPR training program. Using the controller's built-in accelerometer, it tracks hand position as you practice those vital life-saving maneuverings, charting depth and rate of compression to give you a more accurate performance reading than the conventional Resusci Anne mannequin. The American Heart Association is sure impressed: it just pledged a $50,000 fund to UAB for the continuation of the project. The software's expected to be complete early fall 2009, with an open source download being released on the AHA website. No telling what these crazy kids'll accomplish once MotionPlus gets its time to shine.[Via Coolest Gadgets]
Medtronic's LIFEPAK 15 defibrillator for extreme conditions, or extremely clumsy paramedics
Sure, everybody loves a tough notebook -- but there are all sorts of gadgets that can benefit from the tough treatment. Adding to the list of electronics suitable for dropping, kicking, and spraying with water, Medtronic's LIFEPAK 15 -- which just received FDA approval, by the by -- is a portable heart monitor / defibrillator equipped with all sorts of fun features, including an audible CPR Metronome, a dual-mode color LCD with a high-contrast mode for use in bright sunlight, up to six hours of operating time, and energy dosing for difficult-to-defibrillate patients. Just make sure it's nice and dry before you plug the paddles in. For reals. Video after the break.[Via Medgadget]
LED flashlight talks you through basic CPR
Here's a survival product combo we never thought of: an LED flashlight that talks you through the basic steps of CPR. It sort of makes sense, at least: high-efficiency LED in an ultra-compact AAA battery-based design that will talk you through an important emergency skill while the world crumbles around you. The whole flashlight measures 4-inches in length and sports push-button on/off and CPR read-off. Images of armageddon and self-taught nurses abound.
CPR Glove could save lives, looks kind of dorky
A pair of electrical and biomedical engineering students at McMaster University are entering this year's Ontario Engineering Competition with a rather neat project: the CPR Glove. While it just looks like a particularly lame-looking and ill-fitting glove on the outside, the one-size-fits-all glove houses sensors that can measure if you're administering CPR compressions at the right rate and depth. Apparently the boys spotted a study that found compressions were applied at 80 per minute -- instead of the doctor recommended 100 -- 59% of the time, while 37% of compressions were too shallow. Not exactly the most exciting of statistics, but it inspired these guys to build a glove to help with training or even be included in standard first-aid kits. The glove is built with cheap handbuilt components, so it shouldn't be too hard to manufacture, and the guys are already planning to look for a manufacturer whether or not their creation wins the competition.[Via Medgadget]Read - Students develop CPR GloveRead - Video of the glove in action
Prototype device helps untrained bystanders save lives
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]
GameDaily's steps to revitalizing the PSP
Sony's in need of some PR recovery for its multimedia gaming handheld. GameDaily listed a few suggestions, many of which should lead to the PSP's success:1. Drop the UMD movies already. Yes, I completely agree. But considering the lack of UMDs on the release schedules, I think Sony's unofficially officially given up. What we DO need is Sony's Connect to materialize some time soon. Apple now distributes movies for the iPod; I want Sony to distribute movies for the PSP's beautiful widescreen display. Now. And for cheap. 2. Lower the system price. We've heard tons of rumors of a price drop. I don't think it'll happen: what's more likely is Sony continuing to "update" its Value/Core/Giga packs. Not that the latest one was any good. 3. Fix the D-pad. I completely agree. There's something wrong when pre-order bonuses involve giving away free replacements for the D-Pad. 4. Get more exclusive games. I don't really agree with this point. While the system has been struggling early on, there's a lot to look forward to, as evidenced by Tokyo Game Show.
SenTAG helps prevent drowning, wirelessly
Swimming is fun, but drowning, most certainly, is not. The makers of SenTAG know this, and have developed a system that monitors swimmers' depth and motion, alerting them, with a series of alarms and LEDs, if they might be in danger. The set-up, which is designed mostly for public swimming holes, consists of radio/ultrasound transmitters (worn around swimmers' wrists) and a base station that alerts rescue personnel if someone isn't responding to the alarm. No building modification is required for installation, meaning there won't be any wires running through or around the water and operating cost is kept relatively low. The most exciting part for us, though, is that the whole rescue process is now one step closer to being completely electronic. Eventually, the SenTAG could be used to signal a Strider robot, which could drag the victim back to land where the CPR bot could be applied. But, don't worry lifeguards, that day is still a long way off.
