Swedish Study Shows Mobile Phone App Saves Lives

A study done in Sweden determined a mobile phone app is effective in getting help to a person in need more quickly than the typical response time from emergency services.

When dealing with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), minutes, if not seconds, are like gold. The sooner CPR is started, the better the chance for survival. SMS Lifesavers is a mobile phone application which uses technology similar to other social apps. Combining GPS geo-location technology with a type of friend-finder app, SMS Lifesavers sends a text message to registered users providing the location of a person in need of CPR.

The app works like this: Someone calls for emergency services (9-1-1 in the USA), the dispatcher notifies EMS to mobilize, and at the same time a text message is sent to CPR trained volunteers who signed up for the service and are in the vicinity of the victim.

The study showed survival rates were higher among those who received bystander help than for those who did not. There may be many CPR trained people in any given area, but how can they help unless they know an event is occurring? Using mobile phone technology to locate those who are willing to assist is a no-brainer.

While SMS Lifesavers is not yet available in the USA, there is a system which has been initiated in thousands of cities and towns across America. PulsePoint Respond and PulsePoint AED are mobile phone apps which will guide responders to a nearby CPR emergency and will display the location of the nearest registered AED. The responder can attend to the victim and send someone else to retrieve the defibrillator. Both applications can be downloaded free here. Click here to read about PulsePoint in action in Sunnyvale, CA.

There are people who have the training and inclination to help those in need of CPR, and there are now technologies which have been developed to bring together those who need help and those who are willing to provide it. Let’s spread the word!