Among the new products on show at EMS Today 2013 was the Weil Mini Chest Compressor. This latest version of the Weil Mini will be available for purchase sometime in May and already has 510k clearance and CE mark. The Weil Mini provides consistent chest compressions resulting in uninterrupted CPR.
It is built specifically to deliver the American Heart Association recommended depth and rate of chest compression for optimal circulation during sudden cardiac arrest. It is a new mechanical CPR device, which has a number of unique features.
First, it’s the most compact device of its type. It weighs less than 4 ½ lbs, and is only about the size of a coffee can. It packs into a compact case for convenient deployment.
Next it features a disposable torso band for securing the device. This does several important things. The torso band eliminates the need for a rigid surface under the patient’s back. That is how it can be so small and quick to apply. The Weil Mini can be applied in about 10 seconds anywhere.
The disposable torso band helps create circumferential pressure around the chest. It basically squeezes the chest with the piston leveraged against the torso.
It’s powered by a compressed air tank. Consider that half of EMS is fire service-based — and that fire departments already have compressed air tanks for their SCBA’s. The Weil Mini is pneumatically driven from your existing air tanks. It consumes about 60LPM of air. A typical SCBA tank is 1,200 liters that would provide at least 20 minutes of use.
The air shut off valve is basically your on/off switch. It is easily possible to turn it off and on briefly after several minutes of compressions to ventilate with little interruption. You can even position the switch so it’s accessible from either the patient’s head or chest.
There are no batteries to charge or motors to fail; pneumatic technology is simple, rugged, and rarely breaks. The reliability should be outstanding.
I don’t see much of a learning curve, so it should be easily integrated. Last but not least, it is affordable to operate. The disposable torso bands are only $60, and for many departments the air to drive it is virtually free. More information can be found at their website.
