Vic rural ambulances trial a new CPR device
Victorian rural ambulances are trialing a new CPR device that could prove to be one of the greatest advances in resuscitation technology since the defibrillator 40 years ago.
The automated device, which costs about $20,000, squeezes a patient’s chest in a consistent, hands-free way to deliver blood flow to the heart and brain, freeing up paramedics and doctors to focus on other tasks during a cardiac arrest instead of performing manual compressions.
Stephen Bernard, an intensive care physician at The Alfred Hospital and medical adviser to Victoria’s Rural Ambulance Service, said seven ambulances had been fitted with the device after research published in The Medical Journal of Australia (2006) showed cardiac arrests were more difficult to treat in rural areas.
The device, manufactured as AutoPulse, wraps around a patient’s upper body and measures the size, shape and resistance of the person’s chest before starting compressions.
