Real-time guidance for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in
Mixed Reality
Danilo Gasques Rodrigues
Dept. of Computer Science and
Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
gasques@ucsd.edu
Janet G. Johnson
Dept. of Computer Science and
Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
jgj007@ucsd.edu
Nadir Weibel
Dept. of Computer Science and
Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
weibel@ucsd.edu
Figure 1: HoloCPR in Action. (a-b) As soon as the simulation manikin heart’s stops beating, the user looks at it to find spatially
localized information of what he needs to do anchored where it he needs to perform it. (c-d) Wearer is performing chest
compressions while seeing the instructions in place.
ABSTRACT
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving pro-
cedure that gives a cardiac arrest victim a second chance.
The application window is short as the chances of survival
falls drastically with every minute without resuscitation. Out-
ofhospital cardiac arrests are even riskier, as the state of victim
worsens while waiting for specialized medical personnel. CPR
is simple and composed of few steps, with instructions widely
available in First Aid Kits or online. Nonetheless, it is usu-
ally not performed by most bystanders as they fear to harm
the victim by its incorrect application. Recently, the intro-
duction of Mixed Reality (MR) devices such as Microsoft
HoloLens enabled the development of systems that leverage
contextual information such as the location of the victim to
display guiding information where it should be performed,
thereby allowing bystanders to focus on the task at hand. In
this demo, we present HoloCPR, a Mixed Reality application
that provides real-time instructions for performing CPR.
ACM Classification Keywords
H.5.m Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI)
Author Keywords
Mixed Reality, Augmented Reality, HoloLens, CPR,
Checklists, User-Centered Design
INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION
In the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, performing
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately after the
victim collapses is critical for his or her survival. It often can
take 8 minutes or longer for medical personnel to arrive on the
scene. Since the chances of survival fall by 7-10% for every
minute without resuscitation, bystander-initiated CPR has the
potential to save lives.
Bystanders are people that happen to be around the victim
in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest. They are most likely
not trained medical professionals and have to rely on past
training or their knowledge to help the victim. Although it has
been shown that bystander-initiated CPR can double or triple
survival rates [3], only 30-40% [4] of bystanders administer
CPR. Factors such as fear of harming the victim or panic
influences their readiness to act despite prior training[1].
In an effort to encourage bystander-CPR, first-aid kits often
provide manuals that aid performing CPR by providing step-
by-step instructions. Alternatively, bystanders can use a mo-
bile phone to provide guidance. Despite making CPR instruc-
PervasiveHealth (Demos, Posters, Doctoral Colloquium) 2018, April 20-21
Copyright © 2018 EAI
DOI 10.4108/eai.20-4-2018.2276450