Effectiveness of Smartwatch Guidance for High-Quality Infant Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Simulation Study

Abstract

Background and objectives: As in adults, the survival rates and neurological outcomes after infant Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are closely related to the quality of resuscitation. This study aimed to demonstrate that using a smartwatch as a haptic feedback device increases the quality of infant CPR performed by medical professionals. Materials and methods: We designed a prospective, randomized, case-crossover simulation study. The participants (n = 36) were randomly allocated to two groups: control first group and smartwatch first group. Each CPR session consisted of 2 min of chest compressions (CCs) using the two-finger technique (TFT), 2 min of rest, and 2 min of CCs using the two-thumb encircling hands technique (TTHT). Results: The primary outcome was the variation in the “proportion of optimal chest compression duration” and “compression rate” between the smartwatch-assisted and non-smartwatch-assisted groups. The secondary outcome was the variation in the “compression depth” between two groups. The proportion of optimal CC duration was significantly higher in the smartwatch-assisted group than in the non-smartwatch-assisted group. The absolute difference from 220 was much smaller in the smartwatch-assisted group (218.02) than in the non-smartwatch-assisted group (226.59) (p-Value = 0.018). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the haptic feedback system using a smartwatch improves the quality of infant CPR by maintaining proper speed and depth regardless of the compression method used.