The technology is now available to put a defibrillator in a lay person's hands, therefore minimizing the time to first shock and maximizing survival. This would accurately determine cardiac rhythm and deliver appropriate energy safely and effectively. Over the last 10 years it has been used effectively by trained first responders and is now poised to enter the marketplace for public use in cardiac resuscitation. This device uses a computerized algorithm to accurately identify ventricular fibrillation and rapid ventricular tachycardia. AEDs are portable and weigh as little as 1.8 kg.
Experience suggests that AEDs can be operated safely and effectively by trained lay responders.
As early as 1987, Moore and colleagues 10 demonstrated that lay people can learn to operate an AED safely. A proposed multicentre trial will compare sites with and without an on-site AED over a period of several years. In addition, the groundswell of support for this new technology may indeed prevent its objective study. We believe that automated external defibrillation will eventually find a niche in places that do not have easy access for EMS providers. In such areas lay people could be trained to provide CPR and defibrillation if response times for EMS personnel are more than 15 minutes.