A University of Iowa professor has developed an app to help first responders communicate with patients who can’t speak during emergencies. Krista Davidson, a U-I professor of communication sciences and disorders, says the app is called RescueVoice, which she says has the potential to be life-changing.
The innovative app can be used by a wide variety of emergency personnel, including first responders, medical workers in ERs, nursing homes, and schools, allowing helpers to communicate quickly with patients.
She hopes to include more languages in future versions of the app, as well as to make it available for smartphones, as it’s now just for tablets. Davidson developed the app after hearing feedback from first responders.
The app costs $9.99 in the Apple and Android app stores, as Davidson says it was very costly to produce. Her initial funding to create it came from grants and local non-profits like the Solon Lions Club and the North Liberty Optimists. She also appealed to the U-I’s entrepreneur center.
An Ohio children’s hospital is among the first users of RescueVoice. Find out more online at www.rescuevoice.uiowa.edu/.
