AED Treats Both Children and and Adults

A new automatic external defibrillator (AED) called AED Plus is specially designed to treat children up to eight years of age, as well as adults. The AED Plus has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This new pediatric capability includes voice prompts that tell rescuers what type of electrodes--adult or pediatric--are connected, so that the proper electrodes are used. Separate and specific algorithms for adults and children are used to analyze a victim's heart rhythm. Pediatric-specific energy levels also have been incorporated. Electronics in the AED Plus adjust defibrillating energy levels automatically so that suitable doses, when needed, are delivered.

"This pediatric capability allows the AED Plus to help rescuers treat pediatric or adult victims of sudden cardiac arrest wherever it occurs,” said Richard A. Packer, president and CEO of Zoll Medical Corp. (Chelmsford, MA, USA), which developed the AED Plus.

When an ambulance is called to a school, emergency personnel are more likely to find a child in respiratory arrest than cardiac arrest. Nevertheless, whether the victim is an adult or a child, the AED Plus helps treat both conditions--including airway management, breathing, and circulation--through voice prompts and its distinctive graphical interface.




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