Resusci Anne: The heroine of first aid

In 2010, first aiders across the world celebrated the fiftieth birthday of the woman who revolutionised training in cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – Resusci Anne. Anne was developed in 1960 so that people could realistically practice CPR – the procedure for reviving someone in cardiac or respiratory arrest.  In the half century since, millions of people across the globe have been trained to perform CPR and thousands of lives have been saved.

During the middle of the twentieth century there were two key medical discoveries that formed the principle behind modern CPR.  Firstly, anesthesiologists James Elam and Peter Safar realised that resuscitation could be performed by exhaling air direct into a casualty's lungs.  Inhaled air contains about 21% oxygen and exhaled air contains about 16% oxygen, so exhaled air still contains sufficient oxygen to supply the casualty.  The second discovery was when William Kouwenhoven, Guy Knickerbocker, and James Jude established that chest compressions improved the circulation of blood and therefore increase oxygen flow to the brain.

In most cases first aiders can practice their skills on each other but compressing someone's heart and blowing used air into their lungs while they are conscious does pose a few problems. The only time that CPR could be realistically performed was in an emergency, perhaps not an appropriate time to start learning.

At the same time as the medical discoveries, a Norwegian toymaker – Asmund Laerdal – came across a new type of soft plastic that he used to manufacture realistic dolls for children to play with. He was inspired to combine the advances in doll-making with the advances in resuscitation and create a manikin that could accurately replicate the human body, including the respiratory system, and so Anne was born.

Anne may not have aged over the last fifty years but her family has expanded to include babies, infants and even a full bodied manikin that other injuries can be simulated on. This ensures that first aiders have the best and most realistic training possible and are ready for whatever comes their way.

So who was Anne originally? In the late nineteenth century a young woman was pulled from the River Seine in Paris, having supposedly committed suicide. Her identity was unknown so a death mask was produced as was the custom. Her enigmatic smile and her radiant beauty inspired numerous romantic stories speculating about her identity and the mask was reproduced all across France. When Laerdal was visiting a relative's home he noticed the mask on their wall and felt that it would be the ideal face for his new manikin. The manikin needed the appearance of an unconscious woman (it was felt that men would be hesitant to practice the 'kiss of life' on another man) yet possess a look that would appeal to the first aider. The Lady from the Seine thereupon became Anne - the most kissed woman in the world.