If you are an iPhone user or even if you have had a smartphone for a while, chances are that you have at least one app on your phone which claims to help you get through medical emergency. And while some of these apps do allow you to learn more about dealing with emergencies, chances are that when a real accident occurs, your natural response is still to call the police or the fire department for help while you try to recall things you learnt in health class in school to help you get by till the emergency workers arrive. The good thing, however, is that there still are some very handy gadgets out there that can easily be used in some of the most common emergencies.
Edit
1. Interactive Talking First Aid Guide
While most of us have been taught how to perform some of the basic first aid procedures in case of emergencies, people still rely on their country’s emergency service help lines when a real emergency occurs. But in places where a phone is not available or in areas where reception is bad, a gizmo like the Interactive Talking First Aid Guide can be of real help. The aid basically mimics the same pattern that is used by operators responding to emergency helpline and gives users step by step guidance on how to respond to up to eight different medical emergencies with over 30 different recordings for infant, child and adult emergency situations. To activate, simply open the device, which will then ask you the nature of the emergency and guide you through the selected option and you can respond by pressing the yes and no buttons. Though it retails for nearly a $100, the Interactive Talking First Aid Guide can really help you save someone’s life in case of an emergency.
Edit
2. Snuza Halo Infant breathing and movement Monitor
Most baby monitors only let you hear the noises that the baby is making or sounds that can be heard by the baby while he is in his room. But the Snuza Halo Infant breathing and movement Monitor lets you monitor your baby’s breathing and allows you to immediately find out if your baby is having trouble breathing or is being suffocated by a blanket or pillows. Since most infant deaths are caused by suffocation, this device could really save a child’s life. The Snuza Halo Infant breathing and movement Monitor also acts like a little emergency worker when it doesn’t get a breathing sound for the baby by sending a gentle pulse vibration to get the baby to start breathing again. If it doesn’t restore the baby’s breathing within five seconds, the monitor then sends an audible signal that can wake the baby up and which can also be picked up by the baby monitor.
Edit
3. Earthquake detector
We’re not too sure how this one works exactly since there aren’t any known scientific ways in which an earthquake can be detected before it actually hits the surface. But if this earthquake detector works, it can potentially save thousands of lives if not millions. Created by Sebastian Alegria, a Chilean teen, the detector features with an Arduino board that is connected to Sebastian’s server and the teen was also savvy enough to get his hacking hat on and enable his detector to send out tweets alerting people when an earthquake is about to hit. The $75 earthquake detector can be a real life saver if it works since Sebastian is working on a way to get the gizmo to send out SMSes as well.
Edit
4. CPR Glove
OK, so you’ve seen a CPR procedure being performed on television and in movies and you think that in case of an emergency you would be able to recreate the seemingly simple procedure and save someone’s life. But a team of engineers at McMaster University have found that most of the time CPR procedures fail to work since the compression was not the right rate and depth. To allow people to detect whether the compression level during a CPR procedure is the correct rate and depth, this team has created a one-size-fits-all glove with sensors that can be used by anybody and even kept at home as part of a first aid kit.
Edit
5. Striiv Fitness Tracker
So this is not exactly a medical device to be used in emergencies, but it is a kickass fitness tracker that can accurately collect data regarding your daily workout which can be extremely important for people with medical complications and conditions. Since the device allows you to record your workout data in the statistical equivalent of stairs, miles and calories burned, the Striiv Fitness Tracker can provide emergency workers and hospital staff with important data about what the kind of physical condition the patient had been before they sustained an injury which can then help then determine the best course of treatment.
Edit
6. Talking Defibrillator
A defibrillator is not something that should ever be used who isn’t a trained and qualified medical professional. But sometimes, even professionals need help using gadgets like this and this Talking Defibrillator called the Q-CPR, can really help paramedics focus on shocking the rhythm of the patient’s heart back to normal since they are often working long hours under stressful conditions and may need some calming down before performing such important procedures.
Edit
7. HEADS Generation II helmet sensor
The Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic System (HEADS) helmet sensor developed by BAE Systems allows people to determine the severity of head injuries. Created for people who work in hazardous conditions and are exposed to conditions that heighten the chances of sustaining head trauma like soldiers, construction workers and sportsmen, the Generation II HEADS sensor can be a crucial tool that can allow medical personnel to detect head trauma and determine the extent of the injury sustained. Equipped with an RF transmitter, the HEADS Generation II helmet sensor fits inside the helmet and sends out a signal when an injury is sustained. By recording the exact time of a single or multiple impacts, angular and linear accelerations, blast pressures, duration, magnitude and impact direction, the HEADS Generation II helmet sensor can help medical teams analyze the extent of injuries and treat them accordingly.
