A Medical Device Daily

Zoll Medical (Chelmsford, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of resuscitation devices and related software products, reported that Provena Saint Joseph Hospital (Elgin, Illinois) has implemented the company's AutoPulse Non-Invasive Cardiac Support Pump in the hospital's intensive care and cardiac care units.

Zoll noted that the hospital was recently ranked the top hospital in the state of Illinois for cardiac surgery for 2009 by HealthGrades, a U.S. healthcare ratings company.

"The AutoPulse is like a member of our code team. It's clinically vital. We've seen blood pressure return to normal in cardiac arrest patients, and we're seeing the best codes on paper that we've ever had," said Wanda Pritts, a critical care specialist. "The first time we used AutoPulse was on a large man, about 275 pounds. We were able to get him back to a perfusable heart rhythm and shock him. This would not have been possible with manual CPR."

She added that staff is able to deploy the AutoPulse within seven to 10 seconds, that it's easy to use, and has a calming effect among the code team. Plans are to introduce the automatic chest compression device to other departments of the hospital in the future.

AutoPulse helps provide the consistent chest compressions called for by the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines.

It is an automated, portable device with an easy-to-use, load-distributing LifeBand that squeezes the entire chest in an uninterrupted "hands-free" manner, improving blood flow to the heart and brain during cardiac arrest.

"We're pleased that yet another highly-regarded cardiac center, like Provena Saint Joseph, realizes the value AutoPulse can provide in improving survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest," said Richard Packer, CEO and chairman of Zoll. "More and more hospitals, both large and small, are recognizing the importance that consistent, uninterrupted, high-quality chest compressions have in improving outcomes."