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Our project is an improvement on last year’s device which came about by realizing that manual CPR is difficult to do, and rescuer fatigue sets in early and is a known phenomenon in medical scientific literature.
Our research indicated that present-day CPR devices on the market are hospital and ambulance orientated and vastly expensive and need power sources. Our aim was to design a cheap effective intuitive device without requiring an external power source and using recyclable parts. We wanted to postpone rescuer fatigue for as long as possible. We researched various mechanisms and the final device involves bicycle pedals linked to a car piston mechanism design. We tried five different versions of the product to date.
Our CPR Pedal Chest Compression Device postpones rescuer fatigue in CPR for 60 minutes or more. Rescuer fatigue usually occurs within the first 2 minutes. Compression depths are consistent using this device because of its design.
Compression depths are often not done properly in manual CPR. Our device has adjustable height and width so more patients benefit by the use of our device; its ease of use encourages more people to use it, increasing the number of resuscitations carried out.
Our conclusions to date from using our CPR device is that CPR compression depth is consistently accurate and rescuer fatigue is postponed. There is no need for swapping rescuers in/out every 2 minutes. As most cardiac arrest happens in the home an inexpensive CPR device like ours would be a great asset in saving lives.
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