The Emporia Gazette
EMPORIA, Kan. — These days, Lyon County’s ambulance service wants some help getting to the heart of things.
It’s been abut 20 years since the Emergency Medical Service got its first Thumper, a machine that gives cardiopulmonary resuscitation to restart a patient’s heart. Unlike a human paramedic, a Thumper never tires out. It can last as long as its batteries do, so long as someone keeps its piston centered on the patient’s chest.
But times have changed. So have medical standards. And these days, the ambulance service wants to replace its Thumpers with new AutoPulse devices capable of 100 compressions a minute. By contrast, the Thumpers set a pace of about 60 to 80 compressions.
Full Story: Life-saving machines on wish list for EMTs