Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic became the first known health system to revive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient using an assisted reality headset.
Here are seven things to know, according to an Oct. 8 Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health article:
1. Mayo Clinic has been piloting technology from telehealth company OPTAC-X that outfits paramedics with a wearable assisted reality headset that can connect them, via satellite internet, to emergency department physicians.
2. Mayo recently became the first known organization to resuscitate an out-of-hospital patient with cardiac arrest using the technology.
3. The Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service responded to a report of a patient in cardiac arrest at her home four miles from the hospital's emergency department. The emergency medical services crew found her not breathing and without a pulse. A paramedic wearing the headset remotely communicated with a hospital-based emergency medicine physician, who recommended nebulized albuterol sulfate through the endotracheal tube, intravenous magnesium and bicarbonate. The patient regained consciousness and was transported to the hospital.
4. Typical EMS telehealth solutions involve a fixed camera inside the ambulance and are used for stroke care.
5. The technology has been tested and used by U.S. military special forces units overseas, while Mayo Clinic's pilot is ongoing in both urban and rural areas.
6. Mayo Clinic EMS previously used a telehealth platform from Teladoc Health with a portable camera and microphone connected to a cellular hotspot but said the technology regularly failed because of spotty hotspot connections or limited bandwidth for video. The satellite communications terminal mounted on top of the ambulance provided adequate connectivity in this case.
7. The researchers said the technology could also be used for motor vehicle collisions, wound care, and in rural areas with limited internet.