CPR Certification At Home With Nintendo's Wii

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 07.13.2009 at 2:00 pm 5 Comments

Wii CPR Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham test a Wii CPR program. University of Alabama at Birmingham

Heartening or horrifying news, depending on your outlook -- the American Heart Association has pledged $50,000 in funding for a student project to develop a CPR teaching program for Nintendo's motion-controlled Wii.

A biomedical engineering professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham envisioned a program for home computers that could sync via wireless with the Wii remote, and train users on proper resuscitation of people who have suffered cardiac arrest. The students hope to make the program available for download this fall, free of charge, on the American Heart Association's website.

It's not a bad idea to incorporate such a widely-used device as the Wii into CPR training, and certainly cheaper than buying a CPR dummy for practice. But when it comes to performing the real deal, we remain partial to the CPR glove that represents a winner of Popsci's Inventions Awards from 2007.

Kotaku also rightly suggested that the program may gain more traction as an official application download for the Nintendo Wii, rather than a piece of PC software as the plan currently entails.

[UPI via Kotaku]

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5 Comments

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JackNewman

07/13/09 at 3:40 pm

It's a creative idea, but I'd prefer the full CPR Certification, not just the training. While this might be fun for the kids, I'm sticking with www.emergencyuniversity.com

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LuminousSpecter

07/14/09 at 3:51 pm

This is a very creative idea. It'll help get more people the knowledge they need to do CPR. However, if people want confidence in their CPR abilities, they should visit www.procpr.org

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gadget2go

07/16/09 at 2:15 pm

I didn't care too much for procpr.org. Can't wait to check out the Wii training!!!

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coolguy566

07/21/09 at 5:42 am

crazy what the future is like you can use modern objects to save a persons life

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cpraedcourse

08/31/09 at 2:01 pm

It's the worst feeling in the world- your chest starts to tighten, it's hard for you breathe, and your left arm goes numb. . . . You’re having a heart attack. A trained individual who is certified in CPR from a site like www.CPRAEDCourse.com can help you survive a heart attack until paramedics arrive.