October 9, 2015–CHELMSFORD, MASS.– ZOLL® Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that its new ResQCPRâ„¢ System, which offers new hope for survival from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), is now available nationwide. Instances of the ResQCPR System helping to save lives are already being reported by early adopters of the technology. 
The ResQCPR System is a combination of two medical devices, the ResQPUMP® ACD-CPR device and the ResQPOD® Impedance Threshold Device (ITD). The devices are used together during CPR to create an enhanced vacuum in the chest that improves blood flow to the brain and vital organs during states of low blood flow such as cardiac arrest.
The device combination was shown in a large clinical trial to improve survival to one year from out-of-hospital, non-traumatic cardiac arrest by 49% when compared to treatment with conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).1 According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ResQCPR System is the first and only CPR device indicated to improve the likelihood of survival in adults who have experienced non-traumatic sudden cardiac arrest.
“We’ve only had the ResQCPR System in the field for eight weeks, and we’re already seeing an impact on survival. Our initial experience with the devices has been very positive,” said Joe Holley, MD, FACEP, Medical Director of Memphis EMS and the surrounding counties. “Our paramedics and EMTs in Memphis County say it’s very intuitive, lightweight, and portable.”
“The ResQCPR System provides intrathoracic pressure regulation (IPR) therapy, which non-invasively improves circulation to vital organs without the use of pharmaceutical or other agents during CPR by enhancing the negative pressure or vacuum in the chest,” said Keith Lurie, MD, Chief Medical Officer of ZOLL Minneapolis and inventor of the ResQCPR System. “If implemented widely in the United States, the ResQCPR System could save thousands of additional lives from cardiac arrest every year.”
Inspired by a Toilet Plunger
Dr. Lurie went on to explain how the inspiration that led to the ResQCPR System dates back to 1985 when he was at the San Francisco Medical Center and chanced upon a patient whose son used a toilet plunger on his father when the CPR he administered wasn’t effective.
“It occurred to me that not only did the plunger serve as an effective chest compressor, but the suction between the chest wall and the plunger generated significant negative pressure to enhance blood flow back to the heart,” he quipped.
This announcement comes as the nation marks October as Sudden Awareness Month when special attention is focused on the issue of SCA, a leading cause of death which affects more than 350,000 annually in the United States alone.
“This new technology could change the odds of survival, which remain dismal at less than 10% for out-of-hospital SCA,” said Mary Newman, President and Co-Founder of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.
Since the system was cleared by the FDA in March, early adopters of the CPR device, in addition to the Memphis area, include EMS services in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and surrounding areas; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Cleveland and Toledo (Lucas County), Ohio; Chesapeake, Vir.; and Montgomery County, just north of Houston.
About the ResQCPR System
The ResQCPR System is a combination of two medical devices that are used together during CPR: the ResQPUMP ACD-CPR Device and the ResQPOD ITD 16. The ResQPUMP is a hand-held pumping device with a suction cup that is placed on the chest during CPR to perform active compression-decompression CPR (ACD-CPR). It is the only CPR device that allows the rescuer to deliver up to 10 kg of lifting force. The ResQPOD ITD 16 is an impedance threshold device (ITD) that prevents the influx of unnecessary air through the open airway during CPR to enhance negative pressure.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, therapeutic temperature management, and ventilation. ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and acute critical care. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
About Asahi Kasei
The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the chemicals and fibers, homes and construction materials, electronics, and health care business sectors. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and nutritional products. With more than 30,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/.
