Redesigning Resuscitation

As an Industrial Designer, you can contribute in multiple ways to Resuscitation Redesign. Simon Tiemersma of the Gamelab TU delft and Olivier Hokke developed the resuscitation game Held, which aims to make resuscitation training more fun and accessible for a larger audience. The game won the second prize in the 5th International Educational Games Competition in 2017 (3). Another example is the Medisign graduation project from Alec Momont, who designed an ambulance drone which can quickly carry an AED, CPR aids and medicine to those in need of care (4). The design significantly increases the survivability rate and improves the communication between 112 operators and the caregivers (via a two-way, video channel).

Usage of VR and AR for Medical Training. Image retrieved from RealVision.

About 195 people suffer from a cardiac arrest in the Netherlands every day (Hartstichting, 2017). Although there are life-saving technologies (Automated External Defibrillator or AED) and techniques (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or CPR) available, the survival rate is still approximately 20 percent. The problem is that almost three-quarters of the Dutch population does not know how to act when a person suffers from a cardiac arrest (Avrotros, 2017). The low awareness of how to provide emergency medical help is worrisome. When CPR (i.e. chest compressions and rescue breathing) is performed within 6 minutes, then the chance of survival increases drastically. It is essential to educate as many people as possible in performing CPR and using for example an AED.

Nonetheless, there are many barriers that prevent people from participating in resuscitation training. According to literature, barriers to CPR training are related to a lack of opportunity and the hassle to obtain practical information (where to go and whom to contact). In most cases, people are not asked or required to participate in CPR training. It is also possible that people have never thought of seeking CPR training or paid any attention to it. The challenge is to introduce new ways to educate resuscitation in order to make it more attractive for people. One could think of tackling these barriers for following CPR training, improving the content or boost people’s confidence to save a life after training.

There are currently numerous developments in both research and business communities that work towards such solutions. For instance, the start-up company Dual Good Health is planning to offer resuscitation training with virtual reality (1). In combination with a CPR mannequin (for the real-time tracking of depth and speed of chest compressions), various live scenarios can realistically simulated whereby participants receive immediate, visual feedback. This enhances the overall learning experience, reduces costs and increases engagement in resuscitation training. Besides virtual reality, there are interactive films on the internet which get the viewer to make choices in emergency scenarios. The critically acclaimed film Lifesaver by Martin Percy has been a big success and greatly helped to popularize CPR training (2). 

As an Industrial Designer, you can contribute in multiple ways. Simon Tiemersma of the Gamelab TU delft and Olivier Hokke developed the resuscitation game Held, which aims to make resuscitation training more fun and accessible for a larger audience. The game won the second prize in the 5th International Educational Games Competition in 2017 (3). Another example is the Medisign graduation project from Alec Momont, who designed an ambulance drone which can quickly carry an AED, CPR aids and medicine to those in need of care (4). The design significantly increases the survivability rate and improves the communication between 112 operators and the caregivers (via a two-way, video channel).

TU Delft motivates design students to work on societal challenges in the field of healthcare. Elective courses within the new Medisign specialisation discuss and work on several design cases. With regard to redesigning resuscitation, students in the course Capita Selecta (2017/18 Q1) were challenged to design innovative solutions to improve the resuscitation training of the Dutch company Livis.

References and Interesting Links:

Interesting links:

  1. Virtual reality for resuscitation training:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEiZWq6JvGc&feature=youtu.be
  2. The interactive film Lifesaver by Martin Percy:
 https://life-saver.org.uk/
  3. Resuscitation game Held: 
https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2017/tbm/resuscitation-game-held-wins-second-prize-in-5th-international-educational-games-competition/
  4. The ambulance drone project:
 https://www.tudelft.nl/en/ide/research/research-labs/applied-labs/ambulance-drone/

References:

  • Avrotros. (2017). Nederlanders weten onvoldoende van reanimatie. Retrieved from https://radar.avrotros.nl/nieuws/detail/nederlanders-weten-onvoldoende-van-reanimatie/
  • Hartstichting. (2017). Feiten en cijfers hart en vaatziekten. Retrieved from https://www.hartstichting.nl/hart-en-vaatziekten/feiten-en-cijfers-hart-en-vaatziekten

Topic Contributors: Ward Hendrix, 
Larissa Hesselink, Oliver Aldous, Max Benning-Batstone

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