A New Handheld, CPR Aid to the ResQ(R): Rithem Life Sciences’ Portable Device Helps Anyone Become a First Responder
After a personal incident involving the tragic and sudden loss of his friend’s young son, President and Co-Founder Yehuda Roseman was inspired to form the Wilmington, Delaware (U.S.)-based medical device company Rithem Life Sciences. The company, which recently partnered with the American Heart Association’s Center for Health Technology & Innovation Innovators Network, has developed two new and affordable lifesaving devices – the hands-only CPR aid ResQR and the automated external defibrillator (AED) JoltzAED.
Six million people worldwide die every year due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), with 68% of these events occurring in the home. Many of the victims of SCA have no prior history of heart disease. While many people have a basic concept of how to perform CPR, they may fail to act due to the stress of the event or uncertainty in how to act, or due to not understanding how to perform CPR correctly. Lives are being needlessly lost. Further complicating matters, a recent study published in the December 2020 issue of Resuscitation Plus found that people are less likely to give life-saving CPR during the pandemic because of fears they may catch the infection. In fact, in the last year and with the onset of COVID, many Emergency Medical Services had issued orders to not perform CPR in the case of a pulseless victim.
The Rithem Life Science team has responded to these challenges by developing their two groundbreaking devices – the ResQR and JoltzAED.
The ResQR ($25) is a portable, handheld, and hands-only CPR aid that is ergonomically designed with advanced features including a placement indicator and metronome and LED light guidance to ensure proper positioning of the hands during chest compressions. This allows for the equal spreading of force across the wider surface area of the sternum to reduce the risk of fractures. It is also equipped with a compression pacing system and built-in modesty and personal protection equipment to avoid unnecessarily exposing the recipient’s chest. The JoltzAED is the smallest, lightest and most affordable fully-functioning AED (automatic external defibrillation) unit, an integral part of the CPR protocol. These two devices have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
During sudden cardiac arrest, each passing minute of delayed medical intervention increases the risk of death by a staggering ten percent. Intervention absolutely must be initiated within two to four minutes, but emergency services generally take from six to twelve minutes to arrive. The shocking fact is that only eight percent of people who suffer an SCA outside a hospital setting survive. We recognized the urgent necessity to develop easy-to-use, practical, at-home devices to fill this frightening gap in healthcare.
“We want to provide every household in this country and around the world, a life-saving device to treat family, friends and neighbors who may suffer sudden cardiac arrest,” explains Jonathan Rosenblum, MD, co-founder and CEO of Rithem Life Sciences. “Our Basic Life Support devices are the most comprehensive, compact, and affordable devices to hit the market. Our unwavering mission at Rithem is to make every responder a rescuer. And with our devices’ ease of use, we will give rescuers the confidence needed to perform under intense pressure.”
For more information about Rithem Life Sciences and to purchase a ResQR, please visit www.rithemls.com.
