Recently I dropped on the paper entitled “Rhythm of Life Aid (ROLA): An Integrated Sensor System for Supporting Medical Staff During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) of Newborn Infants” in IEEE TITB Journal.
Authors present a system that utilizes various sensors and provides audiovisual feedback to physicians for exercising the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on newborn infants.
CRP is a crucial medical procedure for the survival of a newborn infant when complications, such as asphyxia or severe infection leading to cessation of breathing and decrease of the heart rate, exist.
On one hand, improper chest compressions could cause internal injury to patients, such as rib fractures, punctured lungs, and damage to the heart, liver, or spleen. On the other hand, insufficient compression depth can be caused by too soft compressions. Therefore, instructions and trainings on CPR for both adults and children are necessary.
The system consists of a timing circuit with two buzzers for the compression–ventilation “beeps.” The visual feedback loop contains an FSR sensor as input and EL-foil actuator as a visual output of the chest compression pressure. The heart of the prototype is an Arduino Mini that receives all the sensor feedback and forwards it to a PC for data logging and also performs audiovisual generation.
A prototype ROLA device is built, consisting of a transparent foil integrated with pressure sensor and electroluminescent foil actuators for indication of the exerted chest compression pressure, as well as an audio box to generate distinctive sounds as audio guidance for insufflations and compressions.
Testing results have shown that the use of ROLA device leads to a more constant rhythm and pressure of chest compressions during CPR of newborn infants!