Tim went to the launch of ‘Australia’s Smallest Big Thing’, a compact AED that can help counter cardiac arrest wherever you are.

 

We’re a pretty safety-conscious bunch here at We Are Explorers, and with good reason! The places we go are far from roads, phone service, and often, life saving help.

We encourage carrying first aid kits, PLBs and satellite messengers, and advise on the dangers of over reliance on tech too.

But, until now, if you went into cardiac arrest somewhere remote your chances would be slim indeed. A good 32,000 Australians go into cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year, a condition which requires a defibrillator to ‘reset’ the heart’. 

‘Defibrillators actually stop the heart’, a paramedic tells me at the launch. ‘It halts the irregular pattern, allowing the heart to find its normal heartbeat again – along with CPR.’

‘It’s an electrical problem, not a plumbing problem like a heart attack.’

 

Portable AEDs have existed for a while, but not glovebox-sized

 

The St John Pocket AED’s Specifications

You’ve probably seen the large, portable AEDs on poles in stadiums and shopping centres. But St John’s new Pocket AED is a revelation: it’s only 700 grams, about as long as a can of soft drink, and a mere 53mm thick.

Yet it’s still a true AED, the letters stand for Automatic External Defibrillator, meaning automated shocks and voice-guided instructions every step of the way. There are only three buttons, one to power on, one to begin administering shocks, and one to lower the power for use with children. It’ll even guide you through CPR with a metronome.

The device is IP65 rated, meaning water and dust resistant, but it’s not fully waterproof. The replaceable battery is designed to last for 3 years and has the capacity for 130 shocks. The pads are also replaceable (and need to be after each use), they last for four years.

It also automatically self-tests, and with a subscription it can connect to bluetooth, 4G, and GPS – though I don’t yet have any details on how this works.

It’s now listed on the St John website at $1995, which is cheaper than most of the other defibs on their site, but certainly not cheap.

Great tagline, no notes

The device steps you through the whole process with audio instructions

So who’s it for?

At this price point, I reckon St John’s Pocket AED is going to be best for hiking clubs, tour companies, school groups, Scouts, or a bunch of safety-conscious mates.

Fact is, only 1/10 people survive a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital, and for every minute without help survival odds go down by about 10%. The biggest mistake – according to St John – is doing nothing. This device will only advise to deliver a shock if it detects that one is necessary, so give it a crack (but also maybe renew that first aid course).

A St John survey found that 1 in 3 Australians wished they’d been better prepared in an emergency situation – now they can be.

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