Are defibrillators from ZOLL really maintenance-free?

There are vendors in the marketplace who sell customers that ZOLL AED Plus and ZOLL AED 3 defibrillators require no maintenance and should be less expensive to maintain than competing defibrillators.

However, anyone who neglects the maintenance of their defibrillators is taking an unnecessary risk. The technical function check is an important aspect of maintaining and ensuring the functionality of defibrillators. The regular performance of technical function checks is crucial to ensure the proper functioning, safety and reliability of defibrillators. Operators of defibrillators should therefore ensure that their devices always comply with current safety standards and are checked by qualified specialists.

Imagine this: There's a person in a burning house. The fire department arrives - but the turntable ladder is jammed because it has not been properly maintained. A catastrophe!

Our dream is close coverage with life-saving devices. Our nightmare: A person dies of sudden cardiac death, there is even a defibrillator nearby - but it doesn't work. Unfortunately, this is quite possible, as we believe that the operational readiness of defibrillators in Switzerland is completely inadequate.

Every day, a new defibrillator is installed somewhere in Switzerland - by a club, a company, in a gym, a pharmacy or a doctor's surgery. These are so-called automated external defibrillators (AED), which are specially designed for use by laypersons. When sudden cardiac death occurs, every minute counts. And then it's good to have a defibrillator nearby to restart the heart with an electric shock. Anyone can help: AED devices are easy to use and explain to the user step by step what needs to be done.

The technical function control is to be explained with a kind of MFK for medical products. This technical function control also applies to lay defibrillators and may only be carried out by qualified specialists.

A technical function check basically includes an examination for possible damage or malfunctions. This includes, among other things, a visual inspection, a functional test and an electrical test with measuring instruments. In the process, the medical technician investigates the following questions:

• Does the defibrillator detect a rhythm that is too shocking?
• If required, is the capacitor charged in accordance with the technical performance specification?
• How long does it take to charge?
• Does an internal self-discharge take place?
• Is the shock delivered according to the appropriate manufacturer's instructions?
• Are there no damages or other abnormalities?

Every person who purchases a defibrillator and makes it available does so for a very honorable motive: they want to ensure that in an emergency, a defibrillator is close at hand for others, their family or even themselves when it matters. Unfortunately, the sense of security gained by the purchase often leads to the devices leading an unnoticed existence on the wall or in the closet. Contributing to this is the fact that many manufacturers have stated that their devices are maintenance-free. Nevertheless, batteries and pads have to be changed and one or the other software change has to be made. If this is forgotten, the devices can fail just when you need them the most.

In our working group, we have been dealing with the question of where defibrillators are located and where they belong for many years. Undoubtedly, the devices must of course be maintained and functional at all times! Legal regulations are therefore to be welcomed, but the operators must then also implement them. We are very concerned that this is currently not the case.

In the case of defibrillators that are not regularly checked, systems are often not ready for operation due to battery problems, electrodes that have already expired or even complete defects. In this case, the operator still assumes that the AED systems are ready for operation, since in the past they were often offered as completely maintenance-free. Nothing is worse than an AED that is not ready for use in an emergency due to lack of maintenance!

As a rule, these are not even due to technical inadequacies, but to human error: the presence of devices is simply forgotten, people in charge change, routines do not work, and: "But the defibrillator is still new!" - overlooking the fact that every device simply has to be maintained.

Although defibrillators usually have a self-test function, expert maintenance must still be performed. During the technical function check, all possible sources of error should be examined and, if necessary, eliminated. Only if you have your defibrillator serviced can you be sure that it will be ready for use in an emergency.