SBIR Phase I: A CPR-integrated airway and ventilator system that eliminates human operator variability

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is enabling automated cardiac resuscitation in emergency situations. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a manual process dependent on responder skills. Ventilation, the proper delivery of air into the patient’s airways, is the process during CPR that requires the most skill and, because it is manually accomplished, is the most variable - especially in high stress environments. The proposed automated system offers a convenient, reliable way of accessing the airway which automatically synchronizes ventilation with chest compressions to improve blood circulation during CPR. The system also introduces a defibrillation electrode in the airway tube to enable cardiac defibrillation at lower, safer voltages.This SBIR Phase I project develops a novel, automated system to provide convenient, reliable patient ventilation and synchronization of compressions. The project’s technical milestones are to demonstrate: (A) reduced operator variability during airway placement and improved oxygen supply in swine models compared to current solutions, (B) reliable detection of cardiac contractions from pressure changes measured in the airway, and (C) feasibility of electric defibrillation with lower energy in cadaver models. The technical challenges are to: account for variations in human anatomy and detect errors with insertion into the airway, account for chest compressions not detected by the system, and ensure electrical contact between the defibrillation electrode and the esophagus during cardiac defibrillation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.