Defibrillators

Kaarel Koovit

Fibrillation

• The irregular, unsynchronized contraction of the muscle fibers.

• In the heart ventricular fibrillation is a condition which can lead to asystole.

• It is usually preceded by ventricular tachycardia (fast heart rhythm).

Fibrillation

• Normal ECG

• VT

• VT/VF

• VF

Defibrillation

• Common treatment to ventricular fibrillation• Consists of driving an electric shock to the

cardiac cells.• When the cardiac cells are depolarized, the

heart can attempt to restore the normal heart rhythm.

Defibrillation

• The waveform of the shock can be mono- or biphasic.

Defibrillators

• Device to transfer the electrical energy to the heart.

Defibrillators

• Monophasic

• Biphasic

Defibrillator types

• External

Defibrillator types

• Implantable

Electrodes

The future

• Making defibrillators more reliable in environments of external noise.

• Develop new algorithms to improve the detection of cardiac arrhythmias.

• Increase the effectiveness and reduce harmful downside of the defibrillation waveforms applied .