Defibrillator monitors are carried by our clinicians. They are able to defibrillate a patient in cardiac arrest but differ from an AED in that they can be used to electrically ‘pace’ a patient when their heart is beating too slow and ‘cardiovert’ which is used when a patient’s heart is beating far too fast. They are also ‘multi parameter monitors’ which means they can measure and record a wide variety of measurements including blood pressure, ECG, EtCO2 (the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled), SpO2 (the amount of oxygen in the patients’ blood) and monitor heart rhythm.

Unlike a hospital device, these units must be able to operate on batteries, be water resistant and durable for the rugged pre-hospital environment.