New Castle County paramedics have begun using a new technology to aid in their treatment of patients in cardiac arrest.
Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) was introduced to the county's EMS protocols about a month ago.
"We are currently using ultrasound in the field for one specific cardiac rhythm to identify if there is heart wall movement," said Senior Sergeant Abigail Haas. "If we see that there's wall movement but we just can't feel a pulse, then we know that we need to add additional medications and move towards the hospital a little bit faster."
NCC EMS using ultrasound for cardia arrest cases
During a recent demonstration, Haas applied a gel to the patient's torso and then used a wand attached to a hand held tablet.
"We are able to get a view of the actual cardiac muscle, if it's moving or not," said Haas.
County EMS officials said the new technology was used successfully on its first deployment in the field in identifying muscle movement in a cardiac arrest patient.
According to the county this technology is only being used by about 4 percent of EMS agencies in the country.
