Breathing Monitor for Avalanches

So my girlfriend is being charged with finding and designing a "novel new use" for a breathing monitor in her senior design class. While I have never used one, I told her about the Mammut Pulse Barryvox Beacon and how it transmits data on whether a person is breathing etc. when buried so you know if it is worth spending time digging them up in a multiple burial situation, but it only works if everyone is using that specific system. The basic idea I suggested to her is developing a monitor that could be used before the pinpoint stage of a beacon rescue to determine whether the victim is breathing/how long they have not been breathing for to determine whether time should be spent pinpointing/digging out this victim or moving to search for the next victim. To avoid catching multiple signals, the monitor/receiver would only read the data within a short distance (3-4 meters). The pulse system is better, but since it only works with that beacon, this would allow other people to save some time in multiple burial situations who use other beacons. This is a short project, I don't think all the kinks need to be worked out, let alone have a system that really makes sense since I'm sure her professor doesn't know a thing about avalanche rescue. But any additional ideas that we could throw in there to help with the logic of the system would be helpful. If it does make sense, I'm sure somebody could develop it/work out the kinks as it could be used by guided groups, etc. that are more likely to be in multiple burial situations. Thanks for the help.

pulse ox meters SPO2 are real small these day. Stop @ a local FD/ ambulance and ask some questions. bluetooth transmissions are all around now. the Cardiac Defibulators are transmitting all their cardiac/respitory data in bluetooth.
Davy

It sounds like a project that could get a decent grade... and a stupid idea.

Another system to search around the snowfield with to figure out if the persons buried are alive? Huh?

Yeah pretty much, but when you've got 3 days and strict rules you can only do so much. Mostly looking for a grade, not to make anything really useful

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Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

Another system to search around the snowfield with to figure out if the persons buried are alive? Huh?

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But dood.

It's bluetoooth!

Probably link automatically to your facebook page too.

Hugh is: Gasping for breath under this avalanche. HURRY THE FUCK UP!

Just a minor clarification:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chatton18

While I have never used one, I told her about the Mammut Pulse Barryvox Beacon and how it transmits data on whether a person is breathing etc. when buried so you know if it is worth spending time digging them up in a multiple burial situation, but it only works if everyone is using that specific system.

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The Pulse senses minute body vibrations that are indicative of life, as opposed to respirations or, well, pulse or anything specific like that.

so if the vibrator was on you'd be alive?

Don't be closed minded, Who know where his girl's lab rat work could lead.
Maybe your poor avy assessment 10 yr's from now will get you in over your head.
maybe her techno geek stuff, will save your sorry ass,
Enable you to over extend your self once again.and put your rescuers in harms way.
Oh, and then you can post your stupidity on Facebook cause you're alive.

Not to go off here, but it was a one week lab - and the first one of the year at that. The teacher wanted to specifically have them incorporate a "breathing monitor" so I gave her group this simple idea. The teacher then suggested that they add something, like a way to keep the person warm when they're buried??? So they think they got a good grade for "thinking outside of the box" but could've added more to the design. I personally wish I was there to tell the teacher what a dumb cunt she is. While we're adding useless shit that is MORE likely to kill you we can put a jet propulsion pack to the system that shoots them out of burried snow along with the bluetooth facebook/twitter app that update via the iphone to display that Hugh Conway (1) has triggered (2) been buried by (3) stopped breathing in and (4) died in an avalanche. I agree that it is an overly complex idea that has a limited market (i'd only imagine guide services having these) with a better alternative (the pulse) currently available. For the record, all research on this has stopped.

Great project, but I tend to agree with HC. I use a Pulse and I find it's WLINK feature (vital signs) of dubious use in multiburial triage for multiple reasons as it will not give negatives, only positives and unknowns. If you do get in the business of giving negatives, you have problems with false negatives as well as false positives. There are better ways to triage multiburials. There are ethical implications here as well.