STTR Phase I: A Multimodal Integrated System For Improved Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Cpr Therapeutics Inc., Putney VT

Investigators

Abstract

This SBIR Phase I project aims to improve the outcomes of patients suffering sudden cardiac arrest. Approximately 650,000 cardiac arrests occur each year, representing the top reason for mortality and morbidity in the US and an estimated $33 billion a year for out-of-hospital costs. Overall survival remains generally below 10%, and patients are often left with significant neurological injury. Manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) still remains one of the most effective treatments, resulting in better outcomes than current technologies. This project will develop a novel medical device that provides a novel superior automated CPR therapeutic system. It combines multiple methods of mechanical chest compression to improve patient blood flow during resuscitation. This project will advance preclinical research for developing the first clinically effective noninvasive automated CPR device. The system integrates a multimodal approach for delivering mechanical CPR, and therefore represents a significant advancement to current systems that only deliver a single mode of CPR. The automated and programmable prototype will determine the optimal combination of methods and timing, to control multiple pump mechanisms for applying mechanical chest compressions to improve patient outcomes. This Phase I project will conduct optimization studies in a swine model of cardiac arrest and develop a proof-of-concept model. These results will provide the foundation for the next generation system suitable for human use, as well as advance research results on the hemodynamic interactions of pump mechanisms and cardiac electrophysiology during CPR. 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.