Besides being an innovative training tool for quickly getting skills up to a high level, its accurate data recording is opening up new areas for research.

SmartMan is changing what we understand about how people perform and what we should expect they are able to perform.

For example It is taking catch words like "retention" as being more complicated and deserving of proper research design than has often been done in the past. If we are to decisively answer whether retention of skills is an issue, or how long a person can reasonably perform CPR at a high level, then we must develop clear proper protocols that include real training in these skills.

It is demonstrating that people can perform at a very high level for long periods of time. The question is whether the person has been properly trained. Sitting in a traditional class is not training. It would be more accurately construed as sensitization to what has to be done.

Several studies have already been completed on SmartMan. As a training tool it does raise the quality of CPR performed. People trained on SmartMan quickly improve the quality of the compressions they perform; go here for more. Studies also show that performance on ventilations dramtically improves once you have the real time feedback that is built into SmartMan; for more go here.

It has already pointed out the difference between using SmartMan to train those people who have never taken a CPR course before and those who have been performing it for many years. There is a clear distinction between teaching a new skill and correcting a habit that is not correct.