Abstract
Several animal studies have shown that the TASER X26 (TASER International, Scottsdale,
Ariz) conducted electrical weapon can electrically capture the myocardium when discharged
on the thorax. These results have not been reproduced in human echocardiographic studies.
A primary limitation of those human studies is that the TASER device was connected
by taping the wires into conductive gel on the skin surface of the thorax. This study
overcomes those limitations. In this study, a training instructor discharged a TASER
X26 into the chests of 10 subjects from a distance of 7 ft so that a 5-second discharge
could be administered through the probes as in field exposures. Limited echocardiography
was performed before, during, and after discharge. In agreement with 2 prior studies
by these authors, the TASER X26 did not electrically capture the human myocardium
when used with probe deployment. These data are contrary to animal studies in which
capture occurred.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: October 26, 2009
Accepted:
September 23,
2008
Received in revised form:
September 22,
2008
Received:
August 13,
2008
Footnotes
â?†TASER International provided partial funding for this study.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Erratum to echocardiographic evaluation of TASER X26 probe deployment into the chests of human volunteers American journal of emergency medicine (2010) 28, 49–55The American Journal of Emergency MedicineVol. 35Issue 4
