Mechanical chest compression with a medical parallel manipulator for cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Background Chest compression is the primary technique in emergency situations for resuscitating patients who have a cardiac arrest. Even for experienced personnel, it is difficult to perform chest compressions at the correct compression rate and depth. Methods We describe a new translational three-revolute-revolute-revolute (3-RRR) parallel manipulator designed for delivering chest compressions. The kinematic and chest analyses have been carried out analytically. The motion of the parallel manipulator while performing chest compressions was simulated under experimental conditions and the results were verified in MSC ADAMS software. Results Simulation and experimental results had more or less similar results. The proposed parallel manipulator was able to achieve 120 compressions/min (cpm) with a depth in the range 38-51 mm during cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Conclusions The design of the manipulator makes it easy to deploy for performing chest compressions at the correct compression rate and depth, as outlined in the 2010 resuscitation guidelines. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.