Fla. Fire Trucks to Receive Local Man`s CPR Invention
July 02--Golden Gate and East Naples fire trucks are being outfitted with easy-to-use CPR devices to assist first responders, who are often first at an emergency, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The devices, called CPR RsQ Assist, are coming courtesy of the device inventor, part-time Naples resident Joe Hanson, in conjunction with Dr. Robert Tober, medical director of Collier County's Emergency Medical Services.
The red and white circular device is used to do chest compressions on a heart that has stopped beating, to keep blood flowing from the heart to the brain. The American Heart Association recommends 100 chest compressions per minute for at least two minutes.
Tober planned to deliver 30 of the devices late Friday to the Golden Gate/East Naples fire department complex at 14575 Collier Blvd. They are being placed in fire trucks, inspector vehicles and with other personnel who work in the field.
"I say they are pretty cool and it looks like a pretty good effective tool," said Kingman Schuldt, fire chief for the East Naples/Golden Gate fire department. "I see it as a good positive impact and simple enough that a lay person can use it."
The Collier County Sheriff's Office also is considering the RsQ Assist.
"We have received one of the units that we are currently field testing to determine its usefulness in a first-responder environment," sheriff's spokeswoman Michelle Batten said. "We expect those tests and our assessment to be concluded in mid-August."
Making the device simple to use was a motivating reason why Hanson, 71, who worked in the cardiac medical device distribution industry before retiring, designed the CPR RsQ. The device has voice and visual commands to help a user pace the compressions. Made of soft plastic and silicone, the device about four inches in height so a user is in a more comfortable position for doing the compressions, Tober said. Another plus is that the device's base is about four times bigger than someone's hand and so it spreads out the energy of the compressions.
Hanson secured clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December to market it. The device sells for $79, or $122 with a wall mounting case.
Hanson and Tober are going to share the cost of donating 500 devices to Collier fire departments and law enforcement agencies, as permission rolls in from agencies over the next couple of weeks.
"If there is any opportunity for me to leave a legacy, it is the opportunity to approach a level of survival of cardiac arrest similar to Seattle, given I have a much older population," Tober said.
Seattle has a cardiac arrest survival rate of 63 percent because of extensive campaigns to educate the public about hands-only CPR. Collier's survival rate runs from 26 percent to 38 percent.
The RsQ Assist device is only approved for use on people 8 and older.
Sudden cardiac arrest, where the heart stops functioning, is the leading cause of death in the U.S. When someone receives immediate CPR, the chances of survival greatly improve.
The American Heart Association recommends 100 chest compressions per minute for at least two minutes, to keep blood flowing from the heart to the brain.
For more information visit cprrsqassist.com.
Copyright 2014 - Naples Daily News, Fla.
