A high school basketball coach used an iPhone app called PhoneAid to perform CPR on a 17-year-old who collapsed on the court.
Eric Cooper Sr. downloaded the $1.99 app just the night before, as kind of a refresher course. When Xavier Jones keeled over in the middle of the court, Cooper and the assistant coach rushed to his side.
Jones’ heart had stopped beating. Cooper used the iPhone app, which gives real-time instructions on how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, to jump start his heart.
Jones is now recovering in a Los Angeles hospital, where he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
This isn’t the first time an app is credited with saving a life – a filmmaker trapped in rubble during Haiti’s devastating quake used an app called Pocket First Aid and CPR to make a bandage and stem bleeding.
We counted 81 CPR apps currently in the iTunes store, from CPR for babies or pets to versions in Italian and Spanish.
This probably won’t be the last time someone uses an app for a medical emergency, here’s hoping no matter the outcome, lawyers don’t get involved.
Source: LA Times
