Almost 1,000 Americans die every day from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), making it the leading cause of death in the US. One of the reasons SCA is so deadly is because permanent brain damage or death can result if the victim does not receive CPR in less than 8-10 minutes and professional response times commonly come dangerously close to exceeding this period. The PulsePoint app (iPhone, Android) was created in 2010 to help reduce these response times by connecting locally available CPR-trained users to those in need of assistance.
When 911 receives a CPR assistance call, the dispatcher enters the details into the 911 system. This information is then also sent to PulsePoint, which alerts app users who are within a certain distance of the victim. The alert is in the form of a push notification that provides GPS directions to the victim’s location so that the user can administer CPR as quickly as possible.
While increasing emergency response times seems like an infrastructure problem, PulsePoint uses information and communication technology to offer what Naveen Jain calls a knowledge gap solution. Infrastructure problems are very difficult to address and require lots of physical resources to solv — physical resources that many cities have in short supply. Lowering emergency response times can mean an infrastructure problem that requires adding expensive personnel, vehicles, and other costly physical resources.
The PulsePoint app transforms a potentially intractable infrastructure problem into a massively scalable knowledge solution by connecting CPR-trained PulsePoint users to those in need of assistance through the existing 911 framework. Through this system Pulse Point multiplies the potential number of first responders. In the traditional 911 situation, there are only a limited number of designated first responders (fire, police, EMS) that can provide assistance. PulsePoint magnifies that number to every CPR-trained individual in the area that uses the application. According to PulsePoint’s website, 57% of adults say they have undergone CPR training, and 11% say they have used CPR in an actual emergency.
By maximizing the number of potential first responders, you also maximize the probability that someone will get there in the crucial amount of time to save a life. PulsePoint is a great example of how civic technology can provide knowledge solutions by connecting civic problems, which are traditionally thought of as the government’s responsibility, to locally available resources in the citizen realm. This app also makes good use of the MARI (monitor, analyze, report, improve) toolset. It allows citizens to see a problem and be able to offer solutions, therefore connecting citizens to improve civic welfare and empowering them to help their community.
PulsePoint app CPR activations are broadcast in real time on Twitter under the account @1000livesaday. Each tweet includes the time and date, the location, and the number of citizens notified. For example, on May 29, 2012, the following tweet was broadcast:
San Ramon Valley Fire Chief Richard Pierce reports that there is about one activation per day, and on average, three to four citizens respond per incident.
While PulsePoint is an amazing tool, a tool is useless without dedicated people to wield it. At the writing of this article PulsePoint has only been deployed in the City of San Jose and the San Ramon Valley in Northern California and the official Twitter account has a mere 35 followers. PulsePoint needs dedicated individuals to lead outreach efforts to deploy the app in their cities and get it in the hands of CPR trained individuals. PulsePoint is provided and maintained free of charge by the PulsePoint Foundation and they will provide support in getting the app up and running in your city. The PulsePoint API is available here. Since part of the PulsePoint app is directing citizen responders to the nearest defibrillator unit, timely and accurate data on all AEDs in the area also needs to be made available.
PulsePoint illustrates how transformative civic technology can be when used to connect civic problems to locally available resources, and is definitely a worthy cause to champion. More information is available here.
Featured photo courtesy of Flickr user Digiart2001.
When 911 receives a CPR assistance call, the dispatcher enters the details into the 911 system. This information is then also sent to PulsePoint, which alerts app users who are within a certain distance of the victim. The alert is in the form of a push notification that provides GPS directions to the victim’s location so that the user can administer CPR as quickly as possible.
While increasing emergency response times seems like an infrastructure problem, PulsePoint uses information and communication technology to offer what Naveen Jain calls a knowledge gap solution. Infrastructure problems are very difficult to address and require lots of physical resources to solv — physical resources that many cities have in short supply. Lowering emergency response times can mean an infrastructure problem that requires adding expensive personnel, vehicles, and other costly physical resources.
The PulsePoint app transforms a potentially intractable infrastructure problem into a massively scalable knowledge solution by connecting CPR-trained PulsePoint users to those in need of assistance through the existing 911 framework. Through this system Pulse Point multiplies the potential number of first responders. In the traditional 911 situation, there are only a limited number of designated first responders (fire, police, EMS) that can provide assistance. PulsePoint magnifies that number to every CPR-trained individual in the area that uses the application. According to PulsePoint’s website, 57% of adults say they have undergone CPR training, and 11% say they have used CPR in an actual emergency.
By maximizing the number of potential first responders, you also maximize the probability that someone will get there in the crucial amount of time to save a life. PulsePoint is a great example of how civic technology can provide knowledge solutions by connecting civic problems, which are traditionally thought of as the government’s responsibility, to locally available resources in the citizen realm. This app also makes good use of the MARI (monitor, analyze, report, improve) toolset. It allows citizens to see a problem and be able to offer solutions, therefore connecting citizens to improve civic welfare and empowering them to help their community.
PulsePoint app CPR activations are broadcast in real time on Twitter under the account @1000livesaday. Each tweet includes the time and date, the location, and the number of citizens notified. For example, on May 29, 2012, the following tweet was broadcast:
"CPR Activation for @SJFD at 05:50 AM PDT (N 1ST ST); 6 citizen responders just notified. #PulsePointSaves"
San Ramon Valley Fire Chief Richard Pierce reports that there is about one activation per day, and on average, three to four citizens respond per incident.
While PulsePoint is an amazing tool, a tool is useless without dedicated people to wield it. At the writing of this article PulsePoint has only been deployed in the City of San Jose and the San Ramon Valley in Northern California and the official Twitter account has a mere 35 followers. PulsePoint needs dedicated individuals to lead outreach efforts to deploy the app in their cities and get it in the hands of CPR trained individuals. PulsePoint is provided and maintained free of charge by the PulsePoint Foundation and they will provide support in getting the app up and running in your city. The PulsePoint API is available here. Since part of the PulsePoint app is directing citizen responders to the nearest defibrillator unit, timely and accurate data on all AEDs in the area also needs to be made available.
PulsePoint illustrates how transformative civic technology can be when used to connect civic problems to locally available resources, and is definitely a worthy cause to champion. More information is available here.
Featured photo courtesy of Flickr user Digiart2001.
Apps references
Org references
Story Category