AROUND TOWN

Automated Life-saving

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been proven to be a life-saving response to acute circulatory arrest. We have all seen, and perhaps even been trained to perform CPR and know it can be a lengthy and exhausting effort for first responders or caregivers who provide it.

Over time, while reporting consistent rates of survival, experts agree it can be difficult to train precisely and also for responders to maintain steady compressions for a very long time. As a result, there has been great focus on automating the process.

One result of that focus is the LUCAS™ Chest Compression System; a battery-powered device that performs automated chest compressions during CPR, and the first responders at Williamson County ESD #5 in Jarrell now have it. Firefighter Andrew Allison provided a quick overview of the device and its benefits before the station alert sounded and he and his colleagues rushed out to help a neighbor. THE BENEFITS

Andrew says the device is an important tool and support measure when responders are alone on scene, or have already performed compressions for 10-20 minutes and extreme fatigue becomes a concern. He says, "The device is only used on adults and is measured for each patient. It is used only when the patient is not awake or conscious with no respirations or cardiac output." "In addition to mitigating fatigue," he adds, "once the patient is fitted, paramedics are freed up to do a more extensive assessment of and possibly treat injuries while compressions continue."

HOW IT WORKS CPR works by creating a positive pressure on the chest (push), which pushes blood out from the heart to the body, then negative pressure (release) pulls new blood into the lower chambers, creating a preload. One of the critical differences with the LUCAS device is an integrated suction cup affixed to the patient's chest. A common problem during manual CPR is that the chest does not always fully recoil because of an increase in chest wall compliance; i.e., the rib cage softens. Unlike manual compression, which only removes downward pressure, the suction Firefighter Andrew Allison demonstrates the Lucas Device assists the decompression phase by pulling the chest back to the neutral position and maximizing the pressure difference with every repetition. KEY TAKEAWAYS Aside from being immune to fatigue, the device provides consistency of compression depth and rate, particularly in the back of an ambulance where standing and performing CPR in a moving vehicle is extremely dangerous. As well, because it does not require the responder to maintain contact, the risk health to care providers being exposed to airborne virus particles is much smaller. Scan the code to keep up with Andrew and all of Jarrell's bravest.