LifeBelt® CPR RECEIVES FIRST PLACE IN GLOBAL DESIGN AWARD
“Receiving such a highly esteemed award recognizes the hard work and creativity that has gone into our product” said Thomas Lach, President and Owner of Deca-Medics. “This recognition will help broaden awareness of the potential of this life-saving device.” The LifeBelt®, which is currently under development, has not yet been approved by the FDA.
The contest is sponsored by NASA Tech Briefs magazine and Dassault Systems SolidWorks Corp. LifeBelt was among a record 1,091 entries in the seventh annual contest which attracts innovative product ideas from engineers and students in 50 countries.
Developed by Thomas Lach of Deca-Medics Inc., LifeBelt(R) CPR utilizes a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage to reduce the force required that which makes it easy for anyone to perform high-quality CPR compressions in the event of cardiac arrest. The compact, lightweight device is designed to attach quickly, enabling a rescuer to start CPR in 15 seconds or less. An intuitive readout warns if the compression depth is too deep or shallow, giving the rescuer confidence that he or she is pushing properly.
LifeBelt overcomes a critical limitation of "hands-only" CPR: the average rescuer is only capable of producing effective chest compressions for about two minutes, far shorter than the typical eight to ten minute emergency response time. With LifeBelt, half as much force is needed, resulting in less fatigue and longer-duration compressions - increasing the likelihood of a successful resuscitation.
The grand prize awarded $20,000 to Deca-Medics towards further research and developments. Previously LifeBelt® was a finalist in the IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) competition in 2008. Deca-Medics partnered with Priority Design, Columbus-based internationally-recognized industrial design firm specializing design, research, strategy, engineering and prototyping.
Deca-Medics, Inc. was founded by Thomas E. Lach and Ralph D. Lach, MD FACC, in 1994. It has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to test its LifeBelt® technology. The company currently holds five patents and has an additional four patents pending for the LifeBelt® family of products including both manual and automated devices. Dr. Lach, a retired cardiologist and former Associate Professor of Cardiology at The Ohio State University School of Medicine and Public Health, was a pioneer of balloon angioplasty, performing the first procedure in the Midwest in 1979. For additional information please visit www.deca-medics.com.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The inside scoop not from the press release:
Deca-Medics is a family-owned business based on almost 30 years of history. The founder of Deca-Medics, Thom Lach, came up with the idea of the LifeBelt CPR device based on an invention of his father. Dr. Ralph Lach performed the first angioplasty ever done in the Midwest in 1979 and was CEO and founder of Columbus Cardiology Clinic. The concept was originally created as a compression band during heart surgery to keep blood flowing. Dr. Lach had received a patent for it in 1988, but he got so busy with his practice that he didn’t have time to take it any further. Thom saw the commercial potential of the device. He started with an automated version of the belt, but realized that it could be cost-prohibitive to the majority of first responders and that there were easy to use defibrillator alternatives needed to that were easy to use. So he worked to create a manual version that can be used to help with CPR. It’s currently undergoing FDA approval.
Here’s a short video of the resuscitation device so you can see how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5B5G0L2BVQ
The company actually has five issued patents around the technology.
posted by Ben Blanquera at
6:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home