Virtual Reality System for Realistic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals in the United States annually. Many people routinely perform CPR to increase blood flow and deliver oxygen, but it must be performed correctly to be effective. The system designed immerses the user into a CPR scenario in virtual reality, or VR, using Leap Motion hand-tracking technology and an HTC Vive tracker to integrate a CPR mannequin into VR. The user wears a glove containing an accelerometer, programmed with an Arduino Micro worn on an armband, to detect the depth, frequency and acceleration of their compressions on the mannequin. For more effective CPR training, the user is provided with real-time auditory and visual feedback to correct CPR compressions. Speech recognition programming allows the user to communicate with a non-playable character in the scenario, who will recognize key phrases such as “call 911.” The system provides the user with a comprehensive score at the completion of a training session to track their improvement as they do additional training in accordance with the American Heart Association’s guidelines.