The new device will be placed throughout the main towers of VUH by the end of February and in all other areas during the following two months. (photo by Dana Johnson)
New VUMC defibrillators offer advanced lifesaving features
As is necessary every 10 to 12 years, VUMC is replacing its freestanding monitor-defibrillators, which are used to monitor heart rhythms and deliver an electric shock to the heart for patients in cardiopulmonary arrest.
The shock from a defibrillator can halt irregular quivering of the heart muscle (ventricular fibrillation) so that a normal beat can reestablish itself. Around 150 of the devices are found on emergency carts and in other handy spots throughout the hospital and clinic.
The new model, Medtronic’s Lifepak 20, offers several advantages, said Les Wooldridge, manager of the Resuscitation Program.
• Instead of the shock making only a single one-way pass from one pad or paddle to the other, current from the new device also makes a return pass through the heart, just a fraction of a second after the first pass. This makes for a better success rate on the first shock, Wooldridge said, and allows use of lower, less potentially damaging levels of current.
• It’s smaller and lighter, and in most areas of the hospital it will be used with hands-free adhesive pads instead of paddles, making it safer for the user, who is thus able to step away from the patient while the shock is delivered.
• Because it doubles as an automated external defibrillator (AED), in an emergency any person trained in the use of an AED could grab the new device and use it. More experienced users can flip open a small door to convert the unit to a fully manual standard defibrillator.
The new device will be placed throughout the main towers of Vanderbilt University Hospital by the end of February and in all other areas during the following two months. Training sessions take about 10 minutes and will be scheduled for each area a week prior to placement. For more information contact Wooldridge at les.wooldridge@vanderbilt.edu.