CellAED®: simply SNAP…PEEL…STICK™ and save a life

Without immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation steps and an electric shock from a defibrillator, only two to five percent of those affected survive sudden cardiac arrest. Nearly half of all people who make it to the hospital alive die despite the best efforts of the rescuers. An Australian startup at MEDICA may now have the solution to save thousands of lives each year.

What can you do in five minutes? You can save a life, for example. And quite possibly the life of a person close to you, who suffers sudden cardiac death. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people in Germany suffer this fate each year – nearly 6 million people worldwide die each year. For most victims, it happens without warning. In addition to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, you can only survive sudden cardiac arrest if an electric shock is administered within the first five minutes after losing consciousness. But do you know where the next so-called AED (automatic external defibrillator) is located? And would you know how to use it if you reach it in time?

But enough about the facts. Donovan Casey lived through these dreadful minutes. A lucky coincidence saved his partner's life at the time. The medical technology startup Rapid Response Revival, in which the Australian is the company secretary and board chairman, has a solution. His company showcases CellAED®, a miniature defibrillator at the MEDICA START-UP PARK. "It is a single emergency event use device that has been specifically designed to be used by an untrained bystander," says Casey. Video instructions are included in the device purchase. The Australian explains what the company want to achieve with the video for the purchase of the Mini-Defibrillator: "This will show how to recognize a person is not breathing, performing CPR and activating the CellAED®. This knowledge and exposure to dealing with an SCA event will take some of the fear out of a non-trained responder taking that first step in a crisis to save a loved one or other victim. Knowledge provides the confidence to act."

The device is about the size of a smartphone. Where does the power for a life-saving electric shock come from in such a small, lightweight and handy device? "The power to achieve up to 200 Joules of energy is substantial in such a small device. We achieved this power in part through proprietary patented circuit design, sophisticated high energy density batteries and capacitors. The rest is secret", says Casey.

Rapid Response Revival aims to sell 500 million units, thus saving one million lives."Instead of an AED with connector defibrillator pads, the CellAED is in the pads. The low cost means one may be kept in every home (70 to 80 percent of SCA’s), and in every work place."

The startup will introduce a prototype at the trade fair and plans to get CE certification in early 2019, according to Casey. The Australians are also in great shape when it comes to international patents: "We are advancing our Clear Assessment PCT Patent through National Phase Jurisdictions." At MEDICA, they are primarily looking for three things: "We are looking for investment to take this to the world. Investment will assist us in completing certification, establish large scale manufacturing, develop sales and marketing and company scaling. A Strategic alliance with a global medical device company will also help to roll out and increase adoption rates globally. We are also seeking the First Nation or jurisdiction to look at CellAED adoption in every Home. This will take SCA survival rates to approaching 75 percent. In addition to saving so many lives, the cost benefits of ameliorating SCA by utilizing CellAED is in the multi Billions of dollars per nation."