

Anyone interested in saving lives by making a cheap/tiny one of these machines? - korussian
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/mc-mcc050211.php

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logjam
In my experience, capnography is usually an accessory output available on a
lot of commercial (and relatively expenseive) pulse oximetry machines. In a
resuscitation scenario, the lack of a pulse doesn't necessarily mean the heart
isn't working. A minimal level of end tidal CO2 concentration of expired air
can indicate that exchange is in fact taking place in the lungs/pulmonary
vasculature regardless of the presence of a pulse. This CO2 level has been
used to predict outcome and help decide when to terminate resuscitation in
such events.

Like pulse oximetry, capnography typically works by detecting infrared energy
absorption at a specific wavelength compared to a reference energy source. One
difficulty with the idea of making a cheap device that one might, for example,
plug into a smart phone, is that unlike a pulse oximeter, you don't simply
slip the energy source/detector over someone's fingertip - the capnographic
sensor is usually adapted or otherwise attached to the endotracheal tube with
which the person in extremis is intubated.

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thisrod
I don't follow the logic here.

Who is going to use this? If they drive a Big White Truck, an ordinary
capnograph won't make it any bigger. Otherwise, they're not even trained to
check for a pulse, because history shows they'll stuff it up in real life.
(Real life refers to the first aider - it's most likely real death for the
patient, no matter who treats them.)

~~~
korussian
We don't want first-responders to have to open up the patient to know if the
patient is dead or just mostly dead, and moving the patient into an emergency
medical vehicle may not be the best first move. This would be particularly
true for field medics in combat situations.

Ideally, a portable/cheap capnograph would be one part of a 21st century
first-aid scenario, while the other parts might include automatic
defibrillators and freezing blankets.

