When a person whose heart stops beating can’t get to the hospital fast enough, bring the hospital to the person. That’s the concept behind a “super ambulance” being designed by a group of Medical School researchers.

A team led by University of Minnesota Health cardiologist Demetri Yannopoulos, M.D., is exploring the feasibility of equipping ambulances that function as mobile emergency departments, capable of treating sudden cardiac arrest, stroke, and other extremely time-sensitive medical crises when they occur away from the hospital. 

It’s funded by a private grant of nearly $900,000 from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Rural Healthcare Program.

The goal: mobile delivery of lifesaving therapies and faster emergency response and transport to treatment centers.