If you've ever been trained in CPR, chances are you've already forgotten how to properly perform it. Now two McMaster University students have invented a device that guides users through the procedure.
It's a long, flexible nylon glove that is designed to guide users in performing CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the procedure that involves compressing the chest to stimulate the heart to begin beating.
Research suggest even doctors and nurses forget how to effectively perform CPR in as little as six months, forgetting where to place one's hands and how quickly to do the compressions.
The CPR Glove is outfitted with sensors, circuits and electrodes, and when worn by a user, measures the depth and speed of the chest compressions being performed, and the heart rate of the victim to make sure they still require resuscitation.
"The pressure sensors tell you if you're pushing hard enough and going fast enough with the compressions. And then there's a CPU [central processing unit] that does all the information processing," co-creators Nilesh Patel explained to Canada AM.
It also has a LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen, similar to those found on cellphones, which offers written instructions on the steps to performing the procedure and helps users avoid mistakes.
"We've had emails from people who thought it was five compressions to two breaths, when it's actually 30 compressions to two breaths," notes Patel about some of the typical errors made during CPR.
Patel, 21, and co-creator Corey Centen, 22, two electrical and biomedical engineering students, invented the glove as part of their fourth-year design project at Hamilton's McMaster University.
"We were thinking back to when we took CPR back in high school and we realized that if we were put in the situation where we actually had to perform CPR, would we remember the steps? And we came to the conclusion that we wouldn't," recounts Centen.
"So we wanted to create a device to help people perform CPR."
The students say their invention could be used for training and testing, not just emergencies.
The device has already taken first place for innovative design at the Ontario Engineering Competition, where more than 230 competitors from 15 universities participated. Centen and Patel have won $4,000 and a spot at the national competition that begins Thursday in Saskatoon.
The inventors say they are refining their prototype, and are hoping to one day add a element that would offer instructions to users using voice commands.
The pair is unsure when the glove could go on the market.
"One of the hurdles is going though the testing and approval stages. It's still considered a medical device, and there's an approval process," Centen says.
