Medical Animation News

What is the best way to instruct the lay public on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)? An increasing number of doctors recommend using a 3D medical animation, and, according to recent headlines, fewer physicians are suggesting using the song "Achy Breaky Heart" as an accompaniment.

That's right. According to an article published by Medpage Today, the 1992 hit single - widely considered one of the most irritating songs ever recorded - should not be used as a method of keeping a compression rhythm while performing CPR.

Why sing the song at all, you may ask? The tradition dates back more than a decade. Researchers have long sought a song that, when hummed while making chest compressions, would get most resuscitators to hit the right speed - namely, 110 to 120 beats per minute, the news source stated.

Several obstacles are obvious. For one thing, the song has to be so widely known that virtually anyone can sing or hum it. Secondly, the tune's tempo must tick along at roughly two beats per second.

Like it or not, "Achy Breaky Heart" meets both of these requirements - in theory, anyway. In practice, the hit single - which VH1 placed at Number 2 on its list of the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs - does not quite live up to its reputation.

A study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal found that 65 percent of volunteers who performed CPR to the mental beat of "Achy Breaky Heart" hit the appropriate tempo.

While that number is fairly promising, other songs appear to elicit better results. The study found that the song "Disco Science" appears to be a better guide, as 82 percent of resuscitators who hummed it hit the right beat.

Many of the old standards are falling to the wayside, as far as CPR instruction goes. A British Medical Journal report noted that KC and the Sunshine Band's oft-recommended "That's the Way (I Like It)" works well, but the classic children's song "Nellie the Elephant" does even better.

However, studies have shown that medical animation-based programs may be even more effective. A number of reports, all drawn up by the same Korean team and published in the journal Resuscitation and the Journal of Telemedicine and Telepractice, found that medical visualization-guided CPR is extremely effective.

How does one watch a 3D medical visualization while performing CPR? On a cellphone.

Amerra provides custom medical animations, medical illustrations and interactive medical software. For additional information please contact us at 1.888.9AMERRA or e-mail info@amerra.com.