March 2015
| Business World
261
NEXT-GEN CPR
CPR has been an integral component of re-
suscitating patients for decades. Conducting
airborne CPR can be difficult and have an
effect on the individual administering the
technique and the individual receiving it. To
combat this, AlStar EMS has introduced the
Lucas Device, an automatic CPR machine.
“There are usually only two of us in the he-
licopter or in the back of an ambulance do-
ing transport,” Weaver said. “Usually one of
us is managing airways and one is managing
meds. In the past, one person had to do all
that and someone else got really, really tired
doing CPR. The literature says you can only
do effective CPR between 38 seconds and
two minutes. By the time you’re done setting
up the airways and switch, it was not an ef-
fective way of delivering a life-saving treat-
ment.”
“This Lucas Device is a glorified suction
cup,” Weaver continued. “It fits onto the pa-
tient’s chest and delivers 100 perfect CPR
compresses a minute, as long as the battery
lasts. Good quality CPR is what saves lives,
and it gives us the time to do other interven-
tions to save lives.”
