Apple's iPhone: saving lives one App at a time

Once you stop laughing at how desperate Dell seems these days, you might enjoy learning why doctors armed with Apple [AAPL] iPhones can save more lives than those without. Recent research from the Association of Anesthetist's of Great Britain found that doctors armed with an Apple smartphone and the iResus App were able to save more cardiac arrest victims lives than doctor's without such equipment.

[ABOVE: Dr Daniel Low, consultant anesthetist explains another batch of tests at Seattle Children's Hospital.]

Developed by the Resuscitation Council, iResus is a free App that provides the most up-to-the minute medical guidance. It is appropriate for everyone from First Aiders to doctors specializing in emergency medicine.

Research conducted at the Royal United Hospital in Bath among 31 doctors proved even similarly-skilled professionals with recent training still performed better when they used the App.

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Time is critical when someone is suffering a cardiac arrest, and stressed-out doctors need to get drug dosages right. Different patients need different amounts of adrenaline, and the prevailing situation can also affect required dosages -- all these factors can impact survivability. iResus gives doctors better information on the basis of which they can make better decisions.

iResus makes doctors 16 percent more effective

To test the App, doctors were split into two groups, one a control group without the App, the other using the App. They then dealt with a simulated cardiac arrest. Those with the App scored an average of 84.5 out of 100, while those without scored just 72.

This is a big deal because, "Every year approximately 30,000 people in the UK have an unexpected cardiac arrest in hospital and, despite significant advances in resuscitation research, survival rates for adults suffering a cardiac arrest remain poor," said Dr Daniel Low, consultant anesthetist.

Of course, some readers may feel that a doctor shouldn't need to use an App in order to do their job, but doctors were neutral to this. After all, access to fast, immediate and accurate information is a valuable tool in any profession.

Culture clash

"However, a culture still remains in which doctors may be reluctant to use cognitive aids for fear of appearing incompetent," the research notes. "Improved team performance in a simulated anesthetics emergency relating to the use of cognitive aids has been demonstrated, and the investigators commented on the need to confront negative attitudes within healthcare towards the use of such aids."

The UK Resuscitation Council says it thinks this App should be used by every doctor engaged in cardiac recovery.

A heart attack is a terrible thing. It is even worse if you live in relative isolation. The elderly, home workers, single parents -- plenty of us face the real threat that if we do collapse no one will know about it, so we may not get the help we need.

Fortunately there's a second App for that, BuddyGuard (free).

Recently introduced at an event held at the House of Lords and hosted by Lord McKenzie of Framwellgate, BuddyGuard is a well-featured App which can make a difference in lots of situations. It builds on the idea of an ICE contact number inside your phone's address book and adds lots of other features. You could describe it as "ICE on steroids".

Protect and serve

BuddyGuard co-founder Tony Alagna explained how it works:

"In the event you have an emergency, BuddyGuard will collect your location data to include in a message it will send to a list of friends you choose when you set the App up. It will also look through the camera to grab a picture of where you are. Your friends are then sent SMS messages and emails, the email contains a map showing your position."

That's the Instant Protection feature. As well as GPS data this will upload audio and images from your device in real time to remote servers. You can set a check-in timer so that if you initiate the App and don't check back your emergency message goes out.

You can also trigger the alarm by sending BuddyGuard an SMS message from any phone. BuddyGuard can also detect if you are in a car crash  (it measures the G-force) or a sudden impact or fall lasting more than a second. It isn't foolproof, but it could offer some form of protection for someone in a medical emergency.

Emergency response

For $120 a year you can activate another layer of protection through BuddyGuard, access to emergency support services through GEOS Search and Rescue, a company Lord McKenzie advises. GEOS runs a call centre from which it can access local police and emergency services worldwide. The cost also includes $1 million of Lloyds insurance to pay for emergency services and evacuation.

Former Police Superintendents' Association President, Lord Mackenzie also thinks Apps like BuddyGuard could be very helpful to law enforcement by gathering better data.

One limitation of BuddyGuard is that it cannot be set to run as a background App on an iPhone. That's silly because it means you need to plan ahead for your emergency, or recover just enough to initiate an emergency request. I would like Apple to spend a little time figuring a workaround for Apps such as this. Meanwhile the developers should maybe figure out a way to make the emergency response call voice-activated, perhaps through use of a codeword, "Mr Sands", perhaps?

Perhaps the biggest limitiation is that if mobile phone signal is unavailable, BuddyGuard won't work at all -- limiting this App's use for people taking risks in out of signal areas, mountain climbers, for example. Or people on AT&T in New York, some wags may exclaim.

Another helpful App, CloseCall, puts an emergency contact's phone number plus any allergies or special conditions on the home screen of your iPhone.

Come across any other essential medical or personal protection Apps? Are you in medicine, and do you have thoughts on this? Or are you a patient, if so do you mind if your doctors use an App to get hold of the most recent helpful data? Let me know in comments below. Please follow me on Twitter so I can let you know just as soon as I post new reports here first on Computerworld.