During cardiac arrest, every minute without defibrillation reduces your chances of survival by 10%. So it’s worth making this step more accessible outside of hospitals. One company is spreading the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by making one substantially smaller, simpler, and cheaper than previous models – it’s called CellAED.
Why defibrillation? Why not just CPR?
A few minutes without blood supply to the brain can cause brain damage or death. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can keep oxygenated blood pumping, but it alone can’t fix ventricular fibrillation (a type of irregular heart rhythm). CPR keeps the patient alive until defibrillation – usually performed by a professional like a paramedic.
Why an AED?
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) put defibrillation increasingly within reach of businesses or even homes. Having an AED around saves you valuable time waiting for a paramedic before defibrillation starts.
Why CellAED?
Portability
Most AEDs weigh in at around 2kg. CellAED weighs only 300g and is the size of a standard business envelope. Not only is it more portable, but more accessible – a frail person can handle 300g more easily than 2kg. This is possible because CellAED is single-use – while a conventional AED is a heavy box and two pads attached with cords, CellAED’s power supply, pads, and cord are combined.
Simplicity
CellAED is automated – once the pads are attached, it monitors the patient, and a voice tells you when a shock is needed and when to stand back. And it’s simple. You snap it in two, revealing the cord connecting the two pads, peel off the protective sheet, and stick the pads on the patient where the simple diagram shows you (there’s one for adults and one for infants under 10kg – just press the ‘infant’ button first). The simple design, three-part instructions, and voice directions make it extremely difficult to go wrong. In fact, the CellAED won’t let you – it will only give a shock when it judges that it’s necessary.
Price
CellAED is only $359 Australian (around $240 US), less than half the price of most AEDs. It’s single-use, but all AEDs come with components that need replacing (often at a price near that of a new CellAED) or have expiry dates. And with the CellAED for life™ subscription, you can pay the initial cost of the Cell AED defibrillator, plus AU$16.50 per month, and the company will replace your device free either when it’s used in a medical emergency or when it reaches the end of its shelf life, for as long as you pay the fee. Not bad for a price similar to that of a streaming service.
The future of resuscitation
The CellAED promises to make defibrillation available to more people than ever (it has regulatory approval in more than 70 countries and continues to expand). But there will always be a place for CPR, and accredited courses are available worldwide now. The more tools we have to fight against cardiac arrest, the better.