Tai-hu Wu’s research while affiliated with National Institute of Biological Sciences, China and other places

To describe a portable life support device for transportation of pre-hospital patients with critical illness. The characteristics and requirements for urgent management during transportation of critically ill patients to a hospital were analyzed. With adoption of the original equipment, with the aid of stale of the art soft ware, the overall structure, its installation, fixation, freedom from interference, operational function were studied, and the whole system of life support and resuscitation was designed. The system was composed by different modules, including mechanical ventilation, transfusion, aspiration, critical care, oxygen supply and power supply parts. The system could be fastened quickly to a stretcher to form portable intensive care unit (ICU), and it could be carried by different size vehicles to provide nonstop treatment by using power supply of the vehicle, thus raising the efficiency of urgent care. With characteristics of its small size, lightweight and portable, the device is particularly suitable for narrow space and extreme environment.

The widespread application of chest compression (CC) as a first aid measure inevitably has the potential for both harm and benefit. The present study was therefore undertaken to design an optimal CC closed-loop control strategy (OCCCS) for mechanical CC devices that will present an effective trade-off between the risk of chest injury and the benefit of blood flow during CPR. Additionally, to evaluate the CC performance of the OCCCS, the differences between the OCCCS and the traditional mechanical CC method (TMCM) of performing standard CC were explored. Using the computer simulation technique, partial pressure of end-tidal CO₂ (PETCO2) and human chest stiffness are simulated based on the Babbs' model in present study. PETCO2 was regarded as a benefit factor (BF), which was divided into 3 levels, while chest stiffness was regarded as a risk factor (RF), which was divided into 4 levels. A benefit versus risk index (BRI) was also constructed for the comprehensive evaluation of risk and benefit. An OCCCS was developed with the combination of the BF, RF, BRI and fuzzy control strategy. A comparison between the OCCCS and TMCM was then performed based on computer simulations. The OCCCS obtained a greater BRI and a better trade-off between risk and benefit than the TMCM in 6 out of a total 9 cases, and the OCCCS also resulted in a significantly improved cardiac output (CO) and PETCO2 in 6 of the 9 cases. The mean BRI, CO and PETCO2 resulting from the OCCCS were 5.69, 1.45 L/min and 15.51 mmHg, respectively, while the mean BRI, CO and PETCO2 resulting from TMCM were 4.76, 1.18 L/min and 13.26 mmHg, respectively. The OCCCS can provide safer and more effective CC during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) compared to the TMCM, and has great potential in the future mechanical CC device development.

To satisfy the requirements of pre-hospital and first aid at scene for critical patient, rapid transportation, and nonstop treatment in hospital, this paper describes a design of a stretcher integrated first-aid system (SIFAS), which can provide seamless link between pre-hospital and in-hospital first aid. With the requirements of integration and informationization, related functional modules of the former invented SIFAS were redesigned with principle of miniaturization. Adhering to the principle of best man-machine performance, systemic structural characteristic was studied. Aiming at achieving the best maneuverability but with lightest weight, the materials and processing technology of the framework were modified and improved. The SIFAS designed possessed good flexibility, it could be carried on pushed, and it could be attached to many carriers, with shortened time, and continuous first aid could be realized, and waiting time for first aid was greatly reduced. The SIFAS provides a possibility for establishing a emergency green path for pre-hospital and in-hospital first aid, and it improves emergency of the patient and quick response of relevant medical institutions.

Real-time monitoring for temperature is required in cold chain for the medical products that are sensible with temperature, such as blood and bacterin, to guarantee the quality and reduce their wastage. This wireless monitoring system in cold chain is developed with Zigbee technology. Functions such as real-time monitoring, analyzing, alarming are realized. The system boasts such characteristics as low power consumption, low cost, big capacity and high reliability, and could improve the capability of real-time monitoring and management in cold chain effectively.