It's a cool idea, but the hurdle is FDA regulatory clearance. The iPad/iPhone is not an approved medical device and the FDA may be reluctant to approve a "high risk" device that needs to be plugged into an iPhone (AEDs are considered FDA Class III medical devices, the highest level of regulatory category).
Very true, cellphones have been known to have batteries low on charge from time to time...
Still, it would be neat to have a cheap supplementary device that could plug into a mobile device to access its processor, memory, dedicated software app, and battery. It would add the capacitor, ASIC chip and pads, which could be packaged flat and integrated into a thicker iPhone case.
It could have a *****y chip on board that hounded the user about the charge level, or shut it down when it wasn't high enough?
If it had a function whereby someone with a heart condition felt an arrest coming on, or a seizure, if they could manage to tap its screen they could initiate the device sounding an alarm and instructing bystanders on how to use it to intervene? It would probably be the first time an SCA victim saved themselves with an AED..
It's true that the Feed and Drug people would balk, but maybe not in China or Europe. If the result was ubiquitous AEDs using this $100 add-on, it would be worthwhile. The goal is not FDA purity, it's saving lives, and they'll have to be astute about that.
Unfortunately, the cost of Schiller Easyport is actually very high right now - over USD$ 3,000 if converted from the current Euro amount.
It's about a grand more than quality AEDS like the FRx, and surely this would come down if there was imminent competition and production climbed. I think a lot of boomers would lease them or build them into their cars, as an example.
As they become more of a commodity, and globally distributed, the FDA will have to weigh public safety vs product safety, which are not the same thing.
I am advocating for AEDs to be installed in elevators with elevator code regulators, and they have to choose between an AED on the elevator decreasing elevator safety vs. the obvious increase in public heart safety.
It's hard for them because they're very conservative, of necessity, but the public's safety will hopefully over-ride their concerns. With 400K dying annually in the US of SCA, a negative decision could leave blood on their hands...
