Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine - Comments for "Save Lives with First Voice ResQR!!"

Hi Shelley:

I really appreciate you adding your comments.

I do agree with you if we were talking about an actual printed manual or a laptop that shows large diagrams and the complete instructions on one screen. You can place the book/laptop somewhere that allows you full access to both hands and the victim.

I cannot see someone being calm and patient using a PDA which requires both hands and a Smartphone that is also difficult to use with only one hand. Then having to perform CPR or tending to a serious wound would be difficult holding the PDA or phone too. PDA or Smartphones just do not have a large enough or loud enough speaker to allow you to place the unit far enough away that you can here the audio but also have room to work.

The program in general is not my main concern but more so the small device on which it is designed to work on.

Hi Nate:

The initial premise was someone providing help to someone else. One thing that was not mentioned in these cases is what happens when things go wrong or get worse?

Providing CPR incorrectly and the person dies. Does this mean the person providing the incorrect CPR ultimately responsible?

Actual training cannot replace any form of instant instruction by any means.

The example you give is certainly valid cause at the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for your own survival being in the situation alone. If the person has common sense and patience, I can see that person pulling out the PDA and referring to the program. If the owner of the PDA is injured and has someone else to assist he/she can trust, again the PDA maybe helpful for the assistant to refer to. I just find the small screen a real deterrent when shock, adrenaline and fear kicks in. A large screen with lots of images and detailed audio instructions would be helpful like on a tablet PC or laptop but a PDA I really have my doubts.

"the bone protruding through your leg"....Yikes!

I agree with you.

I Think my last statement says it all.

Quote:

"It's always good to check with your local fire department for free or inexpensive FIRST AID classes. Everyone should take a class".

While I agree that this program may not be an absolutely perfect solution, I disagree with the argument that someone who installed this program would forget about it.

Sure, in an emergency you're going to be freaked out and the first thing you're going to do is probably seek help (someone near you, 911, etc.). But if I specifically installed a first aid program on my phone and then was presented with an emergency, I wouldn't forget that I had installed the program just because it was an emergency situation. Maybe I live a more sheltered life than some of the others who have commented but being under pressure doesn't make me just suddenly forget facts.

Put differently, when confronted with an emergency I believe it's safe to say that most peoples' first reaction will be "I need to find help." If there isn't any help immediately available (or if there will be a delay between when the help is summoned and when it will arrive), the next reaction would probably be "What can I do to help?" And if a person specifically installed a first aid program on their phone (or bought a first aid kit, etc.) I simply cannot believe that they would just forget about it. To believe otherwise seems to be to believe that the potential helper just runs in hysterical circles going crazy instead of trying to help, which just isn't true.

And Bob I must disagree with your assertion that "no amount of instructions will help you effectively unless guided by a real person." There are innumerable instances of people having saved lives by following instructions out of a first aid book. Indeed, first aid books would be useless if your assertion were correct.

And as far as the suggestions for an On-Star type program (or one that dials 911) and the assertion that emergency treatment should be left to qualified professionals, I agree on all counts that these things are preferable. But the very fact that an emergency exists often--by definition--means that help (whether in the form of 911 or qualified professionals) is not available. Sure, an emergency room is better than a first aid kit, but this doesn't mean that first aid kits are useless; sometimes all you have is a first aid kit.

If I was to create a First Aid program, it would be for those that had less serious injuries in the great outdoor and did not require 911.

Example:
1: How to protect a cut when you have no band aids. pee on your wound to sterilize and apply lip balm if you have it.
2: How to start a fire with twigs, a shoe lace and a small stone.

Now this maybe more practical. :-)

I would think most people would forget that they had this in their home or with them in an emergency. If you worked as an emergency personnel, you would be trained in these types of matters therefore you would need sophisticated instructions for more serious situations.

As Tariq indicated, most people would not be in any condition to remember to pull out something like this.

This idea is something I have considered in the past doing but never did. Being in an emergency situation is different and no amount of instructions will help you effectively unless guided by a real person. Most people will not have the time to locate the right button to press or have the patience to read details from a small screen while the situation is dire and the adrenaline is rushing through the body.

If there was a quick button you could press and an automated voice guides you step by step to properly apply CPR while sensors monitored the persons condition then this would much better. Applying CPR to an infant, child, adult or senior is different in all cases and you need to be told exactly the right methods based on the persons age and medical condition.

The program does have potentials but I feel the basic monitoring tools are missing to really make this a more effective software program.

Minimum, I would think at least sensors to detect these are critical.

1: blood pressure
2: pulse
3: temperature

In the end, the best approach is to have access to 911 and as much details about the injured person as possible like:

1: Allergies to medication
2: Medical condition
3: Prior injuries

Something a PDA cannot help you with is to be calm and to use common sense in a stressful emergency situation. Sorry to be so negative about this program but when someone talks about life and death situations, it is serious and treatment should be left to qualified professionals. . .

If anyone is in their 40 - 50's will remember a TV show called Emergnecy. This was a show about a team of paramedics that saved lives. Each time a paramedic was to touch a patient, the paramedic would call and talk to a doctor to assist them. These are trained professionals and they still reply on other professionals to assist them. Just like the TV show, I would get the help of 911 whenever possible.

It's always good to check with your local fire department for free or inexpensive FIRST AID classes. Everyone should take a class. :-)

Smartphone &amp; Pocket PC magazine - Comments for "Save Lives with First Voice ResQR!!"

Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine - Comments for "Save Lives with First Voice ResQR!!"