Company Name: 12 Lead Trainer
Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
Signature Product: Wave Generation Algorithm
Website: https://12leadtrainer.com/
12 Lead Trainer is a company based in Columbus Ohio that focuses on using new software solutions to better prepare students for real-world EKG interpretation.
Q&A
1. What was the inspiration behind starting your company?
When I was going through paramedic school, I noticed a glaring weak point in the educational process. There was a shortage of realistic 12-lead EKGs, and, as a result, most of the study material we were given were very clean, single lead, rhythm strips. Having a strong technological background, I devised a system to create digitally-realistic 12-lead EKGs for training purposes.
2. What is your signature product and how does it work?
Our signature product is our wave generation algorithm. It works by taking in a large set of parameters and creating a dynamic EKG that realistically simulates what would be seen in the field.
3. Why do you believe your products are essential to the EMS community?
Cardiology is an essential tool for both firefighters and paramedics; we are required to quickly read and interpret 12 leads in potentially stressful situations. This software will drastically improve the training process by providing rhythms like those that would be seen in the field. This will decrease interpretation time, and increase the accuracy, improving patient outcomes.
4. What has been the biggest challenge your company has faced?
One of the biggest challenges our company has faced has been finding a way to simulate realistic-looking rhythms. Our software has over 5,000+ lines of code that are used to simulate the intricacies of any wave, down to even the amount of slope on a P-wave. Once we were able to generate the rough wave shape, we spent months fine-tuning the algorithm to be able to create the best simulated EKGs available on the market today.
5. What makes your company unique?
Until this point, all cardiology training has been done using low-quality rhythm strips that degrade over time and are hard to come by. Our software allows instructors to demonstrate the various properties of a rhythm and show how they will affect it. For example, with our software, we can demonstrate every step between a normal sinus rhythm becoming tachycardic by simply altering the heart rate on the rhythm. Traditionally, this would require showing the two separate rhythms, and a verbal description from the instructor of what is happening.
6. What do your customers like best about your products?
Our customers like the variability of our rhythms the most. The fact that they can create such a wide range of rhythms to teach or study from is something they have never seen before, and they love experimenting with it. We will frequently get challenges when demoing the software to create a specific rhythm, and they are always blown away that our software can generate such a unique rhythm.
7. What’s next for your company? Any new upcoming projects or initiatives?
Currently our company is working on creating an instructor edition to work in parallel with our current software. This would allow instructors to create a classroom where they can add students, assign them interpretation quizzes or static cardiology practice, monitor their progress and see the areas the class is struggling with. This will allow them to customize their lessons based off the students’ needs, and better prepare them for certification testing and real-world scenarios.
