No-hands CPR device tested at Arizona station

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A device that can stand in for human hands and provide CPR compressions could change how a northern Arizona air ambulance gives life-saving care.

Guardian Air, which maintains medical helicopters at seven bases throughout the state’s high country, recently started testing an automated compression device out of its Winslow station, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.

The device has a band that wraps around a patient’s chest and can contract at a programmed rate and pressure. Some studies show it can be more effective than humans at providing chest compressions in a moving vehicle such as an ambulance or a helicopter, according to the company.

Medics such as Dean Hoffman say the helicopter’s main cabin, which measures about 85 cubic feet, is often too cramped for a person to properly give CPR if someone goes into cardiac arrest.

In a study involving test patients two years ago, Guardian Air found medics and nurses were not providing the necessary force or compression rate. Research into improvements led them to the new device.