The right equipment saves lives

First aiders can provide immediate care until professional medical practitioners arrive. This care can range from dressing a wound to performing lifesaving techniques. Without the correct equipment, however, assisting the person may be futile.

With the introduction of innovative first responder equipment, we are seeing a global trend of health and safety executives providing lifesaving equipment to their first aiders.

“Ventria’s core focus has always been around educating and providing public access to defibrillators, otherwise known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs),” says Blake Grace, director of Ventria.

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the most common cause of out-of-hospital death in the western world. It is caused by an acute and unexpected malfunction of the heart. Without immediate treatment with early defibrillation, a person’s chances of survival are very low,” explains Grace. “Emergency services usually arrive too late to administer lifesaving techniques, so early defibrillation by people already at the scene can be lifesaving.”

Preparing for a SCA incident is about more than simply having an AED on the wall, however. “You need to know that your AED is accessible, works reliably, and has not been tampered with. Keeping track of critical areas will help to keep AEDs ready. These include battery and electronic function, condition of electrode pads, the physical condition of the AED, the lifecycle/age of the AED, and tools that can track and manage all the details,” he expands.

“We take all this responsibility off your hands with our Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring tool that comes ready and installed inside the carrying case of the AED. It is wireless, connects over mobile networks and contains its power source,” Grace continues. “SmartLink automatically monitors the status of the AED every day, notifying Ventria when an error occurs and ensuring all defibrillators are under control – in a building, public areas, sports facilities, and other locations worldwide.”

The company has also launched two new products last year: the LifePad and LifeVac. “These products complement our current service offering and strengthen our goal to help anyone to save a life,” Grace highlights.

The LifePad is a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) coach that helps you perform optimal CPR compressions at the correct compression rate. “The step-by-step instructions will help you keep a cool head. It has coloured LEDs that give you visual feedback for the right compression pressure, and an acoustic signal indicates the optimal compression rate of 100 beats per minute. It’s a simple and easy application that can be used without complex training. This is important for responders who don’t do this for a living,” Grace emphasises. 

“We find that responders often don’t get the correct compression depth. High-quality CPR and an AED are the primary components influencing survival from cardiac arrest. The former is defined as chest compressions of sufficient depth and performed fast enough to generate enough blood flow to the brain and other vital organs to delay cell death. LifePad makes sure you do this,” he says.

LifeVac, meanwhile, is a choking rescue device, which is safe and easy to use, even on yourself. “Time is not on your side in a choking emergency, and getting an obstruction out as fast as possible is essential,” notes Grace. “When the current methods fail to clear the block, LifeVac could make the difference.”

LifeVac is designed with a patented one-way valve system. When applied, no air can be forced through the interchangeable-sized masks when depressed. “The device creates one-way suction to remove the lodged food or object safely and effectively. Being non-invasive means no risk of damaging the oral cavity or pushing the obstruction further down,” says Grace.

“LifeVac is becoming common in schools, homes, and restaurants globally. In a choking emergency, time is essential. When other methods fail in clearing the obstruction, LifeVac will make the difference!” he adds.

What is clear, then, is that with access to the right equipment, anyone can save a life.