Internal Mechanical CPR

[victork]

Hello

I'm a Brazillian Engineering student in need of some guidance over a project.
My project is to build an equipment able to perform internal CPR (like in thoracotomy), but as far as I have read this procedure is rather urgent and have no time to spare.
So I wanted to know if it is viable, the risks and the possible pros and cons of an instrument like that.


Sorry about the bad english/medical knowledge. I'm not good at any of those.

 

[Frozennoodle]

These already sort of exist. It's called a Left Ventricle Assist Device. They circulate blood in failing hearts mechanically. Older versions had a mechanical pump that you could perform "CPR" with. These are placed in patients with known heart failure by cardiac surgeons. Invasive mechanical devices would never be placed in the field given our current understanding of science. The infection risk, cost of training, time for placement,etc. all prohibit that. The Lucas 2 and Zoll Autopulse have been shown to improve patient outcomes. These devices need very little training to learn how to operate and can be deployed with great speed.

This is all ignoring the fact that applying one of these fictional internal CPR machines would require a cardiac surgeon. You're talking about opening a patients chest in the field. EMS doctors don't crack the chest in the field and I've never seen it done in the hospital setting. This idea is completely impractical.

If you want a great project that would be helpful find a good safe cheap way to immobilize someones c-spine that doesn't require them to be moved to attach the device.

 

[samiam]

Emergency thoracotomy.....

 

[mycrofft]

The advantage/strength of CPR is it is fairly simple, it can be immediate, does not require much equipment and poses an acceptable risk of infection or injury to the patient versus being dead.

Anything requiring a thoracotomy blows those all away. The only setting where it makes sense is in an operating room.

 

[victork]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

But what I was suggesting is something to use in an open chest procedure. I don't know any example, but in a surgery where the heart is already exposed. So it would be done with the presence of a cardiac surgeon, in an operating room and everything else for emergency purpose only (not trying to build another VAD).
My idea was to follow the same advantage of the LUCAS 2 and Autopulse, give a steady action while letting the one who would be doing the CPR focus on something else.

I don't know if it changes the scene, but that was the point.

 

[Veneficus]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

But what I was suggesting is something to use in an open chest procedure. I don't know any example, but in a surgery where the heart is already exposed. So it would be done with the presence of a cardiac surgeon, in an operating room and everything else for emergency purpose only (not trying to build another VAD).
My idea was to follow the same advantage of the LUCAS 2 and Autopulse, give a steady action while letting the one who would be doing the CPR focus on something else.

I don't know if it changes the scene, but that was the point.

No need, you can just squeeze the heart with your hand. Much easier, no extra equipment needed.