Defibtech Looks to Expand Global Reach With New AED

In addition to throngs of international visitors to this year’s Medica 2011 international trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, the second thing you can depend on is a steady stream of new product introductions.

For this year’s show, Defibtech Inc. rolled out its Lifeline PRO automated external defibrillator (AED). AEDs have become ubiquitous features—almost as common as fire extinguishers—in a variety of public venues such as offices, airports and sporting arenas.

AEDs revive victims of sudden cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation. Studies show that if victims are defibrillated within a minute or two after arrest, more than 70 percent survive. If defibrillation is delayed for more than 10 minutes, only 5 percent live.

According to the Guilford, Conn.-based medical device company, Lifeline PRO is designed to give professional emergency personnel full manual control of shock energy and delivery. In manual mode, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is shown on a large, high-resolution color display. The user is able to select the energy level and decide when to initiate charge and shock. In AED mode, the displays display either an ECG or step-by-step video instructions for performing defibrillation, chest compressions and rescue breathing.

“The Lifeline PRO finally gives professional responders an affordable way to do fully manual defibrillation. In addition, the PRO’s three-lead ECG monitoring capability gives them another valuable tool to use in caring for their patients,” said Gianfranco Buchbinder, Defibtech’s vice president of international sales.

In addition to having full manual capabilities, AED mode can be used to make the shock/no-shock decisions using field-proven arrhythmia detection technology. According to Buchbinder, in AED mode, the small, bright yellow device provides CPR coaching and allows the rescuer to dynamically switch between hands-only CPR and CPR with breathing.

When CPR protocols change, audio and video instructions can be updated in the field by installing software using a USB cable or data card. In a similar fashion, data from the unit also can be recorded or retrieved using a card or USB cable. The unit also will be available as an AED with ECG display, without manual override, to be marketed as the Lifeline ECG AED.

The Lifeline PRO and Lifeline ECG are not yet available for sale. The devices will be available in certain worldwide markets upon regulatory approval, according to company leadership.

Defibtech recently has been making an international push for business. In early September, the company announced that it had expanded into four more international markets—Denmark, Portugal, Paraguay and the Cayman Islands—adding to the more than 35 countries where the firm’s products are sold. Customers are able to order language-specific AEDs, which provide step-by-step instructions in the primary language of each country.

That’s one of the reasons the world’s largest medical product show was a key stop for the company.

Buchbinder said he was “excited” to be at Medica.

Other companies competing in the AED space include Philips Healthcare, Zoll Medical Corp., Medtronic Inc. and Cardiac Science Inc.