Life-saving SUVs hit the road from the U of M, carrying high-tech medical equipment
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The University of Minnesota has launched a fleet of SUVs loaded with life-saving technology. Each one carries it's own "ECMO" machine, which can help resuscitate cardiac arrest victims outside a hospital.
Ambulances usually do not carry the technology; neither do hospitals. The idea is to bring the machines to the patient and the nearest emergency room.
Dr. Demetri Yannopoulos, with the University of Minnesota, says the mobility of these machines can save time at a time when every minute matters.
"If we get to these people within 30 minutes, they have a 70% chance to survive," he said.
The SUVs have been out on the street for two months and have already been used in 30 cases. There are four vehicles in the fleet right now, with eight on-call doctors trained to use them.
