In the current AED space it seems that there has been no innovation of real time device connectivity for the AED device check up or ongoing and audited provided required maintenance.
The engineering design of the entire industry since its inception from our perspective is with the AED non-connected.
It is a stand alone use model.
We currently look at this use model in 2019 as a legacy "walk around" approach for AED maintenance. Every single AED simply needs to be touched to ensure everything is correct.
This needs to change!
The reality is that any AED has to be available and working in the presence of a sudden cardiac event..and it has to be accessible.
While first responders may have an AED or there may be one on site, there is often not the time to find one when starting CPR. The golden window of time for response is under twelve minutes. So in reality, the problem to solve is accessibility.
Todays's cost of IOT connectivity is at a price point that we can ensure the health and integrity of every AED in a mobile environment and in a fixed location.
Why is this important?
The ability of the AED to deliver the shock to patient is dependent upon many variables.
- You have to know where it is and be able retrieve it in a timely matter.
- The battery needs to be fully charged and ready.
- The gel pads of the electrodes need to be fresh and not dried out.
- All software and firmware need to be current in the device to the latest refresh.
What are the risks if you cannot accomplish this?
- The AED cannot be retrieved in the window of time that will save the patient.
- The battery is not charged fully, thus a shock cannot be delivered.
- Gel pads of the electrodes are dried out, thus useless to deliver a shock.
- Application software or firmware, is not current, thus potentially compromising the patient.
AEDs need to function at the five nines of reliability: 99.999.
The next generation of AEDS should leverage all current IoT connectivity of 4G, LTE-M1, NB-IoT, and coming 5G.
What would be the value of this IoT connectivity?
- An application that could show by GPS and/or in-building location of each and every available AED.
- Remote check of the battery health of the AED
- Validation and verification of the quality of the electrode gel.
- OTA (over the air), updates of software and firmware.
While fire extinguishers are checked and tags are signed and dated, there is to date no consistent approach to the validation and verification of AEDs in the field. It is a manual process. In my travels both domestically and internationally, I have seen where AEDS are not there or are taken out of service with notes (out for service).
Today's IoT connectivity technology will allow the next generation of AEDs to be tracked, allow the location of each one to be know, allow vital checks of the battery health of a delivery of a shock, ensure electrode gel quality is correct for the delivery of a shock, and allow for software and firmware updates as needed for each AED.
This can also provide a quality audit trail of the device for both the manufacturer and the enterprise where this is deployed.
