According to Michael Allman, President of Kentucky Medical Laboratory, a used defibrillator is probably 60-70 percent less than a new one.

"That alone should be enough reason for anyone to look at them," he says. "There's not that much that goes wrong with defibrillators as long as they are currently calibrated."

Unlike other medical equipment, the refurbishments aren't that involved. In fact, it's basically cosmetic upgrades and replacing batteries and a few parts.

"We test all functions and compare to the manufacturer output tests," says Arthur Zenian, CEO of Burbank-based enBio, Corp. "We go through the unit thoroughly and make sure that the case, keypad and battery are replaced and if anything fails or has a constant failure we will replace those components."

Since the machines are so important, preventative maintenance should be done at least every year, with some service contractors suggesting that it should be done quarterly.

"For customers, doing daily quality control tests on a defibrillator is helpful and they should make sure that they aren't always plugged in," suggests Zenian. "Every defibrillator is different and some have their own internal tests."

CPR is the future

Despite all the training first-responders have, many still don't do CPR correctly when placed in the moment. It's estimated that only a third of all people perform it correctly. There are a number of factors that compromise the effort. Often, they push down too hard or the rate of compression is too fast or too slow.

In an effort to help people with this, Philips offers technology that provides feedback that guides people through the chest compressions and breaths to make sure they are delivering the highest quality CPR.

"CPR is an important part of the chain of survival," Miller says. "The shock remains important and it will always be important, there is no other therapy that will work so it's core and essential, but what's changing in the market is really about the continuing care."

Zoll has also added advancements to their defibrillator line that helps in the CPR process and overall patient care.

"We created a technology called Real CPR Help which provides feedback to rescuers which will tell them to press harder, will provide a metronome and offer digital displays to show them how good a job they are doing," Hamilton says. "It's such a help for clinicians who have to provide CPR for a patient, providing guidance that can improve CPR quality."

Hamilton believes that there will be a continuing emphasis on CPR in the future, as providing consistent and uninterrupted chest compressions will save more lives.

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