Resusci Anne, also known as Rescue Anne, Resusci Annie, CPR Annie, Resuscitation Annie, Little Annie, or CPR Doll is a model of
medical simulator used for teaching both emergency workers and members of the general public. Resusci Anne was developed by the Norwegian toy maker
Åsmund S. Lærdal and the Austrian-Czech physician
Peter Safar and American physician
James Elam,
and is produced by the company
Laerdal Medical
Laerdal is a multinational company that develops products and programs for healthcare providers, voluntary organizations, educational institutions, hospitals, and the military worldwide. Laerdal has above 2000 employees in 25 countries. The head ...
.
The distinctive face of Resusci Anne was based on ''
L'Inconnue de la Seine'' (English: The unknown woman of Seine), the
death mask of an unidentified young woman reputedly drowned in the
River Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
around the late 1880s.
Åsmund Lærdal chose to use a woman's face on the mannequin as he thought male trainees might be reluctant to kiss a man's face.
The face was sculpted by the Norwegian-Danish sculptor
Emma Matthiasen (in Norwegian)
The first version of Resusci-Annie was presented by Lærdal at the First International Symposium on Resuscitation at Stavanger, Norway, in 1960. Peter Safar and James Elam were attending the conference. Together they would join Lærdal in refining the design. Later versions would include a simulated carotid pulse, eye-pupils that could dilate and constrict, and a system for recording the trainee's resuscitation performance on a paper tape.
In popular culture
The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?" in
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's "
Smooth Criminal" was inspired by Resusci Anne.
Trainees learn to say, "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy.
References
Dummies and mannequins
Medical simulation
Nursing education
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