The building I have an office in is having a
Automated external defibrillator installed. So I went along to the training course. The IEEE-CS article "
Idiot-proofing the Defibrillator" describes how these devices have been automated so that they issue verbal and text instructions to the user and administers electrical shocks. The AED is used when a person's heart suddenly stops (and they are usually unconscious). The model demonstrated by Paul Jones from
Australian Defibrillators was the
Zoll AED Plus
. Another model is the
Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
. There would appear to be scope for more automation with the AEDs. One would be to add a screen with animations (presumably as LCD screens become cheaper due to smart phones, this will be possible). Another would be to have a mobile phone and GPS built into the device to call the emergency services.
The new AEDs work with a microprocessor inside the defibrillator. The microprocessor analyzes the victim's heart rhythm through adhesive electrodes. It then audibly advises the operator whether a shock is needed. AEDs will advise a shock only for ventricular fibrillation and fast ventricular tachycardia. The electric current is delivered through the victim's chest wall through adhesive electrode pads. The system is safe, so that a shock will not be delivered to someone whose heart rhythm does not need defibrillation.
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