Audiovisual Feedback Devices for Chest Compression Quality during CPR

During cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), chest compression quality is the key for patient survival. However, several studies have shown that both professionals and laypeople often apply CPR at improper rates and depths. The use of real-time feedback devices increases adherence to CPR quality guidelines. This chapter explores new alternatives to provide feedback on the quality of chest compressions during CPR. First, we describe and evaluate three methods to compute chest compression depth and rate using exclusively the chest acceleration. To evaluate the accuracy of the methods, we used episodes of simulated cardiac arrest acquired in a manikin model. One of the methods, based on the spectral analysis of the acceleration, was particularly accurate in a wide range of conditions. Then, we assessed the feasibility of using the transthoracic impedance (TI) signal acquired through defibrillation pads to provide feedback on chest compression depth and rate. For that purpose, we retrospectively analyzed three databases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest episodes. When a wide variety of patients and rescuers were included, TI could not be used to reliably estimate the compression depth. However, compression rate could be accurately estimated. Development of simpler methods to provide feedback on CPR quality could contribute to the widespread of these devices