APRIL 28, 2023 — When UTSA computer engineering student Gabriel Benavidez volunteered as a firefighter during his sophomore year of college, the idea of The Rowdy Resuscitator was born after witnessing a handful of cardiac arrests.
Now a senior, Benavidez and teammates Emilio Martinez, Frank Payton, Tosin Oyebode and Sebastian Velez are presenting their project at the 2023 Spring Tech Symposium, taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at the Convocation Center on the Main Campus.
“I had earned my EMT certification and after handling a couple of cardiac arrest cases, one day I was talking with my fire chief at the station about how to improve the existing market solutions for cardiac arrests,” Benavidez said. “The Rowdy Resuscitator is designed to administer the highest quality CPR possible at the push of a button.”
The device aims to increase the survivability of cardiac arrest by administering CPR in accordance with AHA guidelines, providing chest compressions and automatic external defibrillation. A cardiac arrest is extremely taxing on Fire Departments and EMS services. The amount of apparatus and manpower needed to handle a single cardiac arrest is substantial. Even with these resources, the odds of surviving a cardiac arrest are incredibly low, averaging 10%.
“The overall goal is that it will free up resources and manpower that responders need to use to handle or treat cardiac arrests. The device could also be used by bystanders, which is important since the majority of cardiac arrests successfully treated had CPR administered immediately.”
Aaron Castro, founder and CEO of Superior Mobile Health, chose to sponsor the project after reading its description at the UTSA Rowdy Tank, a competition for aspiring entrepreneurs. Benavidez said he received both business advice from Castro and medical insights from the staff while working on The Rowdy Resuscitator.
“I was able to appreciate the education that I’ve received here at UTSA. This project felt like the culmination of everything I learned here. When we had problems, I remembered lessons from specific classes that I was able to use to overcome the issues,” Benavidez said.
The Rowdy Resuscitator is among dozens of student innovations that are on display today. Presentations are divided into two sections. Senior Design I is for engineering students in the first semester of their senior year. They are presenting a practical concept related to their major, using a visual display such as a poster.
Senior Design II is for graduating engineering students in their second semester. They advanced their ideas from Design I and developed a prototype device. Professionals with an engineering background in each major category are judging today’s entries.
The winners, who will be announced at the end of today’s event, are competing for cash awards. The first, second and third place Senior Design II teams will receive prizes of $4,000, $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. The top three Senior Design I teams will each receive a $1,000 prize.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Come celebrate the doctoral students graduating this commencement season.
H-E-B Student Union Ballrooms, UTSA Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203Celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203First Friday Stargazing gives anyone free access to the night sky using university telescopes and teaching equipment. Weather permitting, experienced astronomers will provide a handful of telescopes of varying designs, give training on how each operates, and point to various astronomical objects that may appear in the sky for that given time of the year. If you have a telescope and do not know how to operate it, feel free to bring it and get instructions on its use.
4th Floor of Flawn Science Building, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
