ZOLL's Hospital Wearable Defibrillator
ZOLL scores FDA approval for its Hospital Wearable Defibrillator
March 14, 2017
by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter
ZOLL Medical Corporation announced today that the FDA approved its Hospital Wearable Defibrillator. Its designed for patients at risk of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation during their stay at the hospital.
“In the typical hospital setting, on average, it takes several minutes after a cardiac arrest begins before a treatment shock is delivered,” Gloria Yee, director of marketing at ZOLL, told HCB News. “The ZOLL HWD is designed to treat the patient within 60 seconds. Ultimately, [it] can help save a life.”
VF is the most serious cardiac rhythm disturbance, according to the American Heart Association. The lower chambers quiver and the heart is unable to pump blood, which causes the patient to go into cardiac arrest.
Before wearable defibrillators were available, patients at risk for VF or VT were usually be monitored by the hospital telemetry system. When the telemetry technician observed an arrhythmia on the telemetry monitor, a nurse would be notified to assess the patient.
If the patient was in VF/VT, the nurse would run to retrieve a standard defibrillator while another nurse performed CPR. Once the defibrillator was brought to the room, the nurse would apply electrode pads and deliver the treatment shock.
Time is of the essence because with each minute that passes after the onset of cardiac arrest, the chances of survival decrease by 10 percent.
The HWD automatically detects VF/VT and immediately defibrillates the patient without human intervention. The device alerts the patient before the treatment shock is delivered, allowing a conscious patient to delay the treatment shock.
The HWD is designed with the same detection algorithm and defibrillation waveform as the LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator. Studies have shown that patients wearing the LifeVest have a 98 percent first shock success rate and 92 percent survival rate.
“In the typical hospital setting, on average, it takes several minutes after a cardiac arrest begins before a treatment shock is delivered,” Gloria Yee, director of marketing at ZOLL, told HCB News. “The ZOLL HWD is designed to treat the patient within 60 seconds. Ultimately, [it] can help save a life.”
VF is the most serious cardiac rhythm disturbance, according to the American Heart Association. The lower chambers quiver and the heart is unable to pump blood, which causes the patient to go into cardiac arrest.
Before wearable defibrillators were available, patients at risk for VF or VT were usually be monitored by the hospital telemetry system. When the telemetry technician observed an arrhythmia on the telemetry monitor, a nurse would be notified to assess the patient.
If the patient was in VF/VT, the nurse would run to retrieve a standard defibrillator while another nurse performed CPR. Once the defibrillator was brought to the room, the nurse would apply electrode pads and deliver the treatment shock.
Time is of the essence because with each minute that passes after the onset of cardiac arrest, the chances of survival decrease by 10 percent.
The HWD automatically detects VF/VT and immediately defibrillates the patient without human intervention. The device alerts the patient before the treatment shock is delivered, allowing a conscious patient to delay the treatment shock.
The HWD is designed with the same detection algorithm and defibrillation waveform as the LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator. Studies have shown that patients wearing the LifeVest have a 98 percent first shock success rate and 92 percent survival rate.