Heart plungers keep air flowing better during CPR

The ResQPump works like a toilet plunger, but while decompressing it can draw air back into the lungs. The ResQPOD, cleared by the FDA in 2003, regulates airflow by creating suction in the chest, which draws blood up into the brain. A study led by Tom Aufderheide, professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, had EMTs and doctors using the tools in combination in seven U.S. locations. Together the pump and pod increased patient survival from 6 percent to 9. And yes, the ResQPump is definitely inspired by toilet plungers, as it was invented after a patient suffering a heart attack was saved when his family administered CPR using one. Read PopSci.com.