Automated CPR Device Improves Resuscitation

An automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) system sets optimal chest compressions for each individual subject, enabling efficient delivery of blood to the brain and the vital organs.

The automated CPR device, currently under development, first defines the physiological characteristics of the patient's ribcage, and then sets the conformed level of forces and frequency which are necessary to delivering the compressions, increasing the chances of survival while at the same time reducing the risk of injury to the chest area. The device utilizes an enhanced compression technique, alternating compressions of the chest and abdomen; studies have shown that intermittent compression of this kind significantly increases blood circulation, thereby protecting critical organs. The device can operate as a standalone CPR device, as well as a complementary system to automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Used in tandem, these two devices could dramatically improve the level of treatment.

The system is planned to undergo a pre-clinical study at the Hadassah hospital (Jerusalem, Israel) Heart Institute and will test the electrodynamic parameters of the second prototype of the automated CPR device. The results will serve as a basis for a third prototype planned for development in line with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. The automated CPR system is under development by R.A.Erez Systems.

"It is my belief that a mechanical device able to maintain a high rate of deep, uninterrupted compressions over a long period of time can become a useful tool in improving future resuscitation processes. I believe the R.A.Erez automated CPR device will have merit from both the medical and potentially commercial point of view,” said cardiologist Karl B. Kern, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA).

Current CPR protocol entails deep, five-centimeter depth-compressions to the chest at a rate of 100 per/minute. The administration of CPR can last as long as 20 minutes. Studies show that when CPR is administered manually by a rescuer, even a trained health worker, the rate and pressure of the CPR drops after the second minute


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Hadassah hospital