Product category:
Personal protective equipment (PPE), devices
News Release from: Laerdal Medical | Subject: Automated External Defibrillator
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 20 July 2004
Worse things happen at sea - or do they?
The new generation AEDs have managed to overcome movement and water intolerance difficulties and so now individual boat owners' having their own AED on board is a realistic and feasible option.
Imagine the scene You are on a leisurely weekendandIgrave;s cruising around the Solent
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 2 Jul 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The weather is good and the breeze is fair.
All is well with the world.
Suddenly the peace is shattered by a shout from below.
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"Help, Help! Joe's in a bad way down here".
"I think he's having a..".
"Oh no, he's collapsed!" You immediately go hove-to and dash below to see what the problem is.
Joe is lying in a crumpled heap on the saloon floor with your other crewmember kneeling over him shouting, "Wake up Joe".
"What's the matter? Joe, talk to me?" There is no answer from the lifeless form on the floor.
You suddenly remember all the things to do from your first aid course.
Check for breathing - there is none.
Check for signs of life and circulation - there is none.
Oh help? What do I do now? Put out a Mayday? Perform CPR? Both? You tell your other crewmember to put out a Mayday call while you start CPR on Joe.
You suddenly remember that defib thing you bought about a year ago in the little bright red case.
You find it and open up the case.
A big sign saying, "Pull" is very evident on the front of the machine.
You do what it says and the machine immediately springs to life.
It tells you to remove all the clothing from (Joe's) chest.
Then it describes how you should place the two self adhesive pads to his chest.
Now it says, "Nobody should touch the patient - analysing".
You kneel there in complete amazement at this machine actually talking to you.
It's now saying, "Shock advised".
"Do not touch the patient".
"Press the flashing orange button now".
"Shock delivered!" This is incredible; all you've done is put the pads on and pressed a button.
It is now telling you to make sure the emergency services have been called and to check for signs of circulation.
You do what the machine says and you check Joe again.
Amazingly, he is recovering.
He is breathing and stirring.
Now his eyes are open and he gives you a confused look.
You explain that you think he's had a heart attack, but that he is all right now because the defib thingy brought him back again.
What the skipper used to save Joe's life was an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Without it Joe's chances of survival would have been very slim as the emergency services would not have been able to get to him in time.
This is because our chances of a successful recovery from a heart attack decrease by an alarming 10 per cent per minute.
CPR alone is not enough when somebody has collapsed from a heart attack.
They need a defibrillator as well, and they need it within 5 minutes of their collapse - or sooner if possible.
It is an undisputed fact worldwide that the earlier an individual receives defibrillation after a heart attack, the better their chances of survival.
This is why we now see the ambulance service fast response vehicles rushing around our towns and cities these days.
To assist with the survival rates from Sudden Cardiac Arrest, governments around the world have instigated programmes of installing "Public Access" defibrillators in high population areas such as airports and large shopping malls.
A number of smaller organisations and firms have also taken the initiative and purchased their own machine.
A trained operator can deliver the first shock in about a minute using one of these machines.
Lay people who have received first aid training can use these defibrillators after a few short hours of instruction.
The problem at sea - unless it is a large passenger ship, is how to get the defibrillator to the vessel in time.
However quick the response to the Mayday, the likelihood of reaching the person in time is fairly remote - even in local home waters.
Smaller vessels having their own AEDs has not really been an option in the past because of the machines intolerance to movement and water.
The new generation AEDs have managed to overcome these difficulties and so now individual boat owners' having their own AED on board is a realistic and feasible option.
They can even take it home and use it there if need be.
Issues like movement, operator and patient safety have all now been addressed and rectified.
This is as a result of a leading manufacturer in the field of life saving equipment taking on board feedback and comments from the boating industry and producing a machine that is both 100% reliable and able to distinguish between a 'moving platform' (boat) and heart movement.
It doesn't even mind a drop of English weather occasionally.
Although it has been demonstrated that some individuals without any formal training can operate these machines, it is far better to undertake a short course in first aid and AED use.
The RYA first aid course is the ideal type of training to prepare skippers and crews.
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