NCT04806958

The PulsePoint Study

Evaluating the PulsePoint Mobile Device Application to Increase Bystander Resuscitation for Victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 340 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Dr. Steven Brooks · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether use of the PulsePoint system increases bystander CPR or defibrillator use compared to standard dispatch procedures in patients who suffer non-traumatic, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a public location. Half of all suspected cardiac arrest 9-1-1 calls in a public location will receive PulsePoint alerts (treatment arm). The other half of this eligible patient cohort will receive standard dispatch procedures (control arm).

Detailed description

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health problem. More than 45,000 Canadians suffer OHCA annually, with only 8.4% surviving to hospital discharge. Early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillator use can save lives but are rarely done. Advances in mobile device technology have allowed the development of a system which can notify CPR-trained citizens within 400 meters of a possible cardiac arrest. The PulsePoint mobile device application (www.pulsepoint.org) empowers them to respond and provide basic life support while professional crews are being dispatched. When a mobile device receives the alert data from the PulsePoint system, the application presents a map showing the exact location of the emergency and the closest public access defibrillator. PulsePoint will be implemented in 2 regions across Canada and the US (British Columbia and Columbus, Ohio). After a coordinated marketing campaign in each participating region to maximize the number of mobile device application downloads in the community, 9-1-1 calls for suspected cardiac arrest will be randomized to conventional dispatch for suspected cardiac arrest versus conventional dispatch plus PulsePoint notifications. The primary outcome will be bystander CPR or defibrillator use prior to professional responders arriving on scene. The primary analysis will involve comparing outcomes between the control and treatment groups among randomized patients who satisfy inclusion and exclusion criteria and have at least one PulsePoint responder within 400 meters of the cardiac arrest event. The investigators hypothesize that the PulsePoint system will have an immediate impact on increasing bystander CPR and defibrillator use in participating communities. In the long term, this project will provide valuable data on how effective PulsePoint is with respect to bystander resuscitation and survival. The data will directly inform policy decisions about PulsePoint implementation in the participating communities and guide other North American jurisdictions around these policy decisions in the future.

Conditions

• Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
• Heart Arrest
• Heart Diseases
• Cardiovascular Diseases

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	PulsePoint notification	The PulsePoint interface software monitors each 9-1-1 call on dispatch computers and is automatically triggered by particular conditions including call type (e.g. suspected cardiac arrest) and location type (public location). When triggered, the system pushes location data to all PulsePoint mobile application users within 400 meters of the emergency location. When a mobile device running the PulsePoint Respond application receives the alert data from the PulsePoint system, the device alarms with auditory, tactile (vibration) and visual stimuli. The application presents a map showing the exact location of the suspected cardiac arrest and the closest public access defibrillator.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-06-08
• Primary completion: 2026-03-27
• Completion: 2026-06-30
• First posted: 2021-03-19
• Last updated: 2026-04-13

Locations

2 sites across 2 countries: United States, Canada