"As the worldwide leader in defibrillation technology, we are proud to partner with Laerdal to bring to market breakthrough solutions that will raise the bar on the quality of CPR being performed by healthcare professionals," said Deborah DiSanzo, senior vice president and general manager, cardiac systems, for Philips Medical Systems. "Together we will continue to pioneer new technologies to better integrate CPR solutions with early defibrillation. This, we believe, is the most promising path to improving survival rates for victims of sudden cardiac arrest."

In addition, Q-CPR enables collection of CPR data for post-event review and de-brief. This data management feature enables system-wide analysis of how well CPR is being performed and can help drive improvements in the quality of CPR in an emergency medical response (EMS) system or hospital. The Q-CPR device weighs less than a half a pound, adding virtually no weight to the HeartStart MRx, and is easy to use and apply to the patient.


"Our collaboration with Philips is an important step towards expanding the knowledge and resources behind delivering correct and effective CPR,'' said Tore Laerdal, CEO of Laerdal. "Q-CPR is the first of several technological advancements on the horizon for Philips and Laerdal, as part of our commitment to help our customers save more lives.''

Philips expects Q-CPR will be available for delivery as an option on the HeartStart MRx by the end of 2005.

About CPR and Defibrillation
CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a technique designed to temporarily circulate oxygenated blood through the body of a person whose heart has stopped or has an irregular rhythm. It involves determining if the person is without a pulse, assessing the airway, breathing for the person, and applying pressure to the chest to circulate blood to the body's vital organs. CPR "primes" the heart to receive a defibrillation shock by perfusing it with blood. It is critical for emergency medical responders to perform CPR quickly and effectively to maximize the victim's chances of survival. However, performing and sustaining the appropriate amount of breaths and chest compressions is difficult, further complicated by such factors as a chaotic environment or fatigue.

SCA affects 340,000 people each year in the U.S. alone, and fewer than five percent survive, largely because defibrillators do not get to them in time or bystander CPR was not performed. For each minute that passes before defibrillation therapy reaches a victim, the chance for survival decreases by about 7 to10 percent. After 10 minutes, few attempts at resuscitation are successful. Early CPR and defibrillation together with good post-resuscitation care can improve survival rates substantially.

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