Skip to Content

CPR to Go

Cardiac arrest can strike without warning: That’s one reason why thousands of volunteers have learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Although the chest-pumping technique moves air into the lungs and blood through the body, it is difficult to perform correctly; a few minutes of lifesaving exertion can exhaust even the burliest paramedic. Overall, only 15 percent of cardiac arrest victims survive.

Cardiologics Systems, a tiny research outfit in Baltimore, Md., is lab-testing a portable, inflatable vest that could provide a safer, easier way to do CPR. The nylon vest wraps around the victim like a big blood pressure cuff; a battery-powered pump drives 10 liters of air into the vest every second. Cardiologics faces competition in the portable-CPR niche from several other R&D outfits. Before the devices become a common sight at poolsides and in ambulances, however, developers must prove they outperform manual CPR in clinical tests.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Scientists are finding signals of long covid in blood. They could lead to new treatments.

Faults in a certain part of the immune system might be at the root of some long covid cases, new research suggests.

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.