Roles for the design of the Paramedic support device are as follows:
Steve Brown - Integration manager
Luke Hildred - Medical expert
Mohsin Masih-Uddin - Sensing systems expert
Tarik Saneecharaun - Actuation systems expert
Shaun Stone - Control systems expert
If you are unhappy with the role that has been designated to you, please contact the group immediately.
Introduction
ReplyDeleteMore than 300 000 persons die of sudden cardiac arrest each year. A patient in cardiac arrest has very little chance of survival unless you, the bystander, take immediate action to sustain him or her until the paramedics arrive.
Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart abruptly stops pumping blood. In many cases, the heart suddenly goes from a regular heartbeat to a random twitching, called ventricular fibrillation. When the heart is quivering like that, blood is not moved through the body, and the patient passes out.
Although very important, chest compressions alone will not restore a heartbeat. A fibrillating heart requires an electric shock from a defibrillator to enable it to resume a normal heart beat. However, until then, chest compressions are the only means to move blood to the patient’s brain, heart, and other organs. Without chest compressions, a fibrillating heart will use up its energy supply and, by the time the paramedics arrive, may no longer be able to respond to a defibrillation shock. As a result, the person will not survive.
Why Is Continuous- Chest-Compression CPR Better for Cardiac Arrest?
Presently, only 1 in 4 patients in cardiac arrest receives bystander CPR. Studies have found that bystanders are more willing to start resuscitation efforts if mouth-to-mouth ventilations are not required. In addition, continuous-chest-compression CPR is less complex and therefore easier to learn and remember. It is important to realize that, even when chest compressions are performed continuously and properly on a person in cardiac arrest, the blood flow they generate is so weak that any interruption in chest compressions, even for breathing, lowers the chances of survival.
ref.: Continuous-Chest-Compression CPR
Gordon A. Ewy, MD
From the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Sarver Heart Center, Tucson.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/116/25/e566
Compression Depth and Compression Rates
ReplyDeleteThe American Heart Association for CPR advises the compression depth should be atleast 2" to be effective and a rate of about 100 compression/min.
ref.: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cpr/FA00061
Compression force–depth relationship during out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation
ReplyDeleteGuys have a look at the following link, it gives the some idea of what kind of force is required for CPR.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T19-4MGVJCG-1&_user=153063&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1579081049&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000012698&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=153063&md5=125aa94bcc50e1d0e725ccf5a85e11a0&searchtype=a