Vital Questions to ask before purchasing an Automated External Defibrillator
Is the defibrillator CE & Approved?
AEDs with the CE Mark are approved for sale in the EU
The IPAD Defibrillator is CE Certified
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Paediatric Defibrillation
Can your AED be used on both Adult and Child Patients?
The majority of AEDs can be used on both however Paediatric Defibrillation pads can be very expensive and will need to be replaced every 2 years or so. They also take time to attach to the AED in an Emergency wasting time.
The IPAD AED is the only Automated External Defibrillator with an Adult to Paediatric Switch allowing you to flick a switch to change the energy amount for Child patients.
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How Long Does the Battery Last?
AED Batteries can last anything from 1 year to 7 years. They can cost up to €800 per battery. This can work out to be extremely expensive if your AED only has a 2 or 3 year battery. You should ensure that your AED carries at least a 5 year battery. It is very important to also ask what is the actual lifespan of the battery when inserted into the AED. Some suppliers advertise 'shelf life' This is the time that the battery can be stored outside of the unit, i.e. in the suppliers stock. The actual lifespan of a battery in use is often far less!
The IPAD AED is Supplied with a 5 Year, 300 Shock Battery as Standard.
A replacement battery will cost €249 every 5 years.. The shelf life is 11 years
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Does the battery need to be replaced after use?
The IPAD AED Battery can deliver up to 200 shocks so it will not need to be replaced after use. Some AED batteries can only deliver 20 - 30 shocks effectively making them disposable. This dramatically increases the operating costs of your AED.
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Are the Pads and Battery separate?
Virtually all AEDs worldwide have separate pads and batteries. This means that when you use the Defibrillator you can just purchase a new pair of pads. Only two AEDs on the market do not allow you to purchase pads individually as the pads and battery must be purchased together. This can increase the running costs of your AED substantially as regardless of whether you use your AED or not you will still have to purchase 2 batteries each time your 2 pairs of AED pads expire.
IPAD AED Pads can be purchased for €49.00 and have approx a 3 year shelf life.
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Can the Automated External Defibrillator be updated to new ILCOR guidelines on-site?
Every 4 - 5 years the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation issue guidelines for resuscitation which are adopted by organisations such as the European Resuscitation Council(ERC) and the American Heart Association(AHA) When these guidelines are announced then all AEDs worldwide usually need to be up dated to allow the recommendations to be applied whilst undertaking resuscitation efforts.
The IPAD defibrillator Will always be updated Free of Charge.
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Does the AED record and report how many shocks were delivered to the Ambulance crew when they arrive?Â
The IPAD AED is the only Defibrillator that verbally reports the AED usage to the Paramedics when they arrive.
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Is the defibrillator Supplied with all required accessories?
Every defibrillator should be supplied with the following equipment as standard, without exception.
2 Pairs of adult electrodes
1 Resuscitation Mask with oxygen port
1 x Paramedic Tuff Cut Shears
1 x Pair of Disposable Examination Gloves
1 x Disposable Razor
1 x Carry Bag
All of the above should be included in the overall price of the defibrillator unit.
Every IPAD defibrillator is supplied with the above as standard.
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Does the company you are considering purchasing from have an established client list?
As in every business retailers of AEDs come and go. Some are extremely reputable and legitimate suppliers, others are not. Â You should ensure that they have been conducting business in Ireland for several years, have sold considerable amounts of AED units, and have adequate technical support systems in place to assist with any problems that may occur.
Safety-Tec (EireMed) has sold thousands of AEDs since 1998. We were the first company to ever deliver AED Training in Ireland.
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Does the company you are considering purchasing from have adequate Product Liability and Public Liability Insurance?
It is vital to ensure that the AED you purchase is covered by Product Liability and Public Liability Insurance. In the event of the manufactures or distributors going out of business or should any technical problems occur then your AED will be fully covered by their product liability insurance.
Every AED Supplied by Safety-Tec is covered by 2.6 Million Euro Public Liability and 1.3 Million Product Liability Insurance.
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Does your AED have an Automatic Volume Adjustment?
Rescue scenes can be very traumatic with extreme ambient noise. This can be from Environmental Items such as cutting equipment, road traffic, machinery, wind, rain etc or from distressed persons.
The IPAD Defibrillator is the only AED on the world market with an automatically adjusting volume.
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The Chain of Survival
The chances of survival following cardiac arrest are considerably improved if there is a rapid, coordinated response to the emergency, each component of the chain being only as strong as its supporting link.
The components in the chain of survival are:
- early access to emergency services. Dialling 999 or 112
- early CPR Even if it is only "Hands Only" CPR
- early defibrillation, Automated External Defibrillator
- early advanced cardiac life support ACLS
CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)
Having recognised that a patient is in need of CPR it is most effective when it is started immediately. Early CPR provides rescue breathing and chest compressions to the Patient. It will help to keep the victims brain and heart supplied with blood and oxygen until medical help arrives. It also increases the amount of time that an electric shock from a defibrillator can be effective. Even in the worst cases where the patient does not survive CPR can keep the vital organs alive possible making them viable for organ transplantation later resulting in life continuing for someone else.
Defibrillation
Early defibrillation saves lives and involves trained personnel delivering an electric shock to the patients chest to help restore the normal function of the heart. It is the link in "The Chain of Survival" that is most likely to improve survival rates. Having a defibrillator on site within 2 minutes, there can be an 80% chance of survival. Every minute that passes survival rates are reduced by 7-10%. Studies show survival rates as high as 74% can be achieved if defibrillation is given administered within 3 minutes.
Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a small, portable piece of equipment that can deliver an electric shock in order to convert Ventricular Fibrillation VF of the heart into its normal or usual rhythm Normal Sinus Rhythm NSR. The AED contains computer software which analyses a cardiac rhythm and will not deliver a shock if the heart does not require it. The time to defibrillation is the single most important determinant of survival after cardiac arrest otherwise known as time form "drop to shock"
CPR FACTS AND STATISTICS
Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victims chance of survival. CPR helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain and increases the amount of time that an electric shock from a defibrillator can be effective and reduces the amount of brain damage that may occur.
Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital. Death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. If more people were trained in CPR, more lives could be saved. Brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest if no CPR and defibrillation occurs during that time.
If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden cardiac arrest victims chances of survival falls 7 percent to 10 percent for every minute of delay until defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation are successful if CPR and defibrillation are not provided within minutes of collapse.
What is the difference between Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) and Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD)?
Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD)
is a dramatic and/or spontaneous death that is thought to be (and usually is) caused by a heart condition and may have been brought on by exercise
Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS):
In one in every twenty cases of sudden cardiac death, no definite cause of death can be found, even after an expert cardiac pathologist has examined the heart. This is called Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome. (In the past it has also been called Sudden Adult Death Syndrome or Sudden Death Syndrome but, because it affects children too, the term Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome is now used.)
The Report of the Task Force on Sudden Cardiac Death
In 2004 the Department of Health set up a special taskforce to examine the issue of sudden cardiac death and its report was produced in March 2006. This report recommended increasing the numbers of people trained in CPR, a much greater provision of defibrillators in communities around Ireland and much quicker response times by emergency services. It also advised that screening should be carried out on the families of those who died and on those playing sport at a high level.
Reducing Time to Response:
Survival rates following cardiac arrest are directly related to time to resuscitation and in particular defibrillation. If defibrillated within 5 minutes, survival rates are approximately 50% and potentially higher with younger patients. If time to defibrillation is 10 minutes or more, virtually no one survives without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This increases to 10 to 20% if CPR is used. A speedy and effective response is required if the chances of survival are to be increased.
In the absence of an effective emergency response system, survival from cardiac arrest is less than 1%. Recent data confirms that when response systems are optimised, survival rates increase. Overall survival from cardiac arrest in a Belfast study was 7.2%. Where the arrest was witnessed and the emergency medical services arrived within 7 minutes and the rhythm was VF, the survival rate rose to 41%.
In a Dublin study, the Mater Hospital Group found an overall survival to hospital discharge rate of 3.6% (13 out of 388 patients). In AED equipped sites, 7 out of 13 (54%) patients whom resuscitation was attempted survived to discharge. By contrast only 6 out of 375 (1.6%) survived arrest where an AED was not available.
These data are compatible with data from the United States where survival rates of more than 30% have been documented among cardiac arrest victims in Seattle, Washington. Taken together, the data supports the hypothesis that prompt defibrillation improves survival.
The ESC Task Force recommends a target time from call to defibrillation in out-of -hospital cardiac arrest of 5 minutes. The probability of successful defibrillation may be improved through the provision of early basic life support (BLS).
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