Collaboration develops device aimed to revolutionise resuscitation

NHS Tayside, Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL), and performance manufacturer Keela Outdoors have collaborated to design and develop a device aimed to revolutionise the resuscitation process for first responders.

The innovative piece of equipment, named the SARUS-CPR hood, which is an acronym of Safer Airway Resuscitation, was invented by Professor Peter Stonebridge, NHS Tayside’s medical director.

It is a small lightweight hood made from transparent fabric which creates a barrier between the patient and the individual performing resuscitation. The hood reduces the risk of contamination and infection from bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19.

The hood has been designed to allow trained CPR responders to easily fit it onto a collapsed patient as soon as they arrive on the scene. This helps to also reduce the time taken to initiate airway ventilation and makes resuscitation safer for both patients and personnel.

The SARUS-CPR hood can be used by trained personnel in a range of settings, including hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances.

NHS Tayside’s medical director, Professor Peter Stonebridge, said: “Frontline healthcare workers and care givers have been absolutely vital to our response to the pandemic and out of all of the challenges of managing the spikes of COVID-19, there has been a lot of innovation in healthcare. 

“Thanks to the input of other experts in manufacturing and design, the kernel of an idea has been developed into the SARUS-CPR hood and I am very grateful to all the collaborators on this project.”

Rod Mountain, NHS Tayside clinical lead for the project, added: “As an NHS worker, I am immensely proud to have been part of its development. This has been a genuine collaborative effort between NHS Tayside and Keela, drawing upon fantastic local engineering and garment manufacturing expertise. COVID-19 drove the innovation, prompting us to look at different approaches to PPE, but we now believe its applications go well beyond the current pandemic.”

In association with the creation of the SARUS-CPR hood, Keela has previously supported the NHS by manufacturing PPE at its Glenrothes site. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team expanded the company’s facilities by 10,000 sq. ft and created 50 new jobs to keep up with demand and adhere to social distancing guidelines. Using Scottish-produced fabric from Cupar Angus, the team dispatched PPE to the NHS on a weekly basis.

As part of the development process the SARUS-CPR hood has undergone extensive trials. It is expected the SARUS-CPR hood will be available for use across the UK later this year.

Robert Rea, head of innovation at SHIL, said: “The SARUS-CPR hood is a real testament to home grown collaborative expertise, taking clinician-led insight from the NHS and turning it into a tangible device that’s now ready to be launched onto the market. The teams at NHS Tayside and Keela have played a vital role in realising that ambition. Their clinical and manufacturing expertise combined with SHIL’s intellectual property and commercialisation expertise has accelerated launch onto the market.”