Comparison of Augmented Reality-assisted and Instructor-assisted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Simulated Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Background: A trained lay rescuer is the most important determinant of survival from sudden cardiac arrest. Augmented Reality (AR) device may represent a powerful instrument for CPR assistance and self-training especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A prospective, parallel, 1:1 pilot randomized clinical trial was designed. An AR CPR app was developed and 28 participants were randomly allocated into AR-assisted group and instructor-assisted group. Acceptability, usability, and mean per minute/per cycle chest compression depth, rate and accuracy were measured. Results: The mean scores for acceptability and usability were all rated good in each group. Comparing real-time AR-assisted CPR to instructor-assisted CPR, the mean difference of compression depth was 0.18 (95% CI: -0.18-0.53) cm and rate was -1.58 (95% CI: -6.11-2.95) min-1. Comparing AR self-training to instructor training, the AR group was not significantly different between two groups regarding both compression depth, rate and accuracy (p > .05). Conclusion: We found that the AR CPR app was an acceptable and usable tool both in real-time-assisted CPR and self-training CPR.