In 2016, a 13-year old boy saved his baseball coach, who had suffered a heart attack, by administering CPR. In 2019, a teenager saved her father’s life by giving him CPR, which she had learned as a child. There are countless examples demonstrating that children can save lives by performing CPR. But CPR manikins are designed to be adult-sized, so children sometimes struggle to use the simulator correctly. Simulators or clinical manikins to teach Cairo-Pulmonary Respiration (CPR) are expensive, as is community access to CPR training. Working with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, this project aims to equip future generations and the broader community with practical lifesaving skills through interactive devices that expedite learning and are accessible from a cost-effective and local manufacturing perspective.
Who was involved?
Working with Luke Wainwright from the Clinical Skills Development Service (CSDS) at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Associate Professor Marianella Chamorro-Koc, Research Assistant James Dwyer, and Yassine Succaire from the QUT Design Lab presented a design challenge to 55 Industrial Design students at QUT.
What was the process?
The QUT Industrial Design students were challenged to apply their design process and manufacturing knowledge and skills to build a child-size manikin for children to learn CPR. The design challenge was informed by product investigation and user research with school teachers, children, and parents.
What were the outcomes?
11 final interactive manikins were developed to teach children how to give CPR to another child. One prototype design was selected for further development, including a new challenge – the addition of breasts.
