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The life-saving item no Grey Nomad should travel without

<p>When General Practitioner Paul Kelly hung up his stethoscope after nearly 40 years of dedicated service, he had a retirement dream shared by many Australians – hitting the open road and exploring the world with his wife, Robyn.</p> <p>However, with a history of heart problems, he was understandably hesitant about venturing far from medical facilities. His concerns were put to rest when a groundbreaking device, <a href="https://cellaed.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the CellAED personal defibrillator</a>, became available. Compact enough to fit in the glove box, this innovative device has opened up a world of possibilities for adventurers like Paul and Robyn.</p> <p>In Australia, a staggering 20,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrests outside of hospitals each year. Sadly, only 10% of them survive. The introduction of CellAED, a handheld defibrillator, is changing these grim statistics by providing a lifeline to those in remote areas.</p> <p>Paul and Robyn are enthusiastic members of this country's growing community of grey nomads. According to ABS data, nearly 16 million caravan and camping trips were made last year, with the majority taken by individuals in the age group most at risk of cardiac arrest. Therefore, it's not surprising that an increasing number of travellers, like Paul, are arming themselves with a CellAED as they embark on adventures across the country.</p> <p>Paul attributes the device to giving him the peace of mind and confidence to travel far and wide. In the past year alone, he has spent over four months caravanning along the picturesque Murray River, explored the coastlines of New South Wales and Victoria, and even managed a European holiday to France. With no intention of slowing down, Paul's trusted travel companion, the handheld defibrillator, has granted him the freedom to explore the heart of Australia without constant worry.</p> <p>"Hopefully, we'll never have reason to use it," Paul says, "but it sure takes the stress out of wondering what we'd do in an emergency."</p> <p>The CellAED defibrillator was developed by the Australian startup, Rapid Response Revival. This groundbreaking device is a game-changer because it's more affordable, portable and easier to use than conventional Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).</p> <p>Luke Starr, a spokesman for CellAED, emphasised the importance of addressing the issue of cardiac arrests in remote areas. He noted, "A key reason why so few survive sudden cardiac arrest is because help is too far away or too slow. CellAED was created to tackle that problem.</p> <p>"Travelling with a CellAED personal defibrillator isn't just about looking after yourself. It's about giving your traveling companions and the people you meet along the way a fighting chance if the unthinkable happens. Sudden cardiac arrest is survivable if it's witnessed by someone who knows what to do," Starr added.</p> <p>Starr further advised, "One of the best gifts you can give your travelling companions is learning how to recognise cardiac arrest and what to do if it happens. If someone has collapsed, is unresponsive, and isn't breathing normally, call emergency services, start CPR, and get a defibrillator onto their bare chest. If you can do this within the first couple of minutes of an arrest, you'll be giving the patient their best chances of survival."</p> <p>The CellAED invention aims to offer more people the opportunity to survive cardiac arrest without relying on sheer luck. With CPR training and a CellAED handy, individuals are prepared to save lives from cardiac arrest wherever they go.</p> <p>The groundbreaking invention comes after new research pointed towards alarming statistics about heart conditions in Australia, revealing that people living in regional, rural, or remote areas are 90% more likely to die from heart conditions caused by high blood pressure than their urban counterparts. The Heart of Inequality report from the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research (MMIHR) at ACU underscores the stark disparities in heart disease outcomes across Australia, particularly affecting regional and Indigenous communities.</p> <p>Key findings from the report include the continuous increase in the burden of chronic heart disease, with hundreds of thousands of hospital admissions for heart-related conditions among Australians aged 35 and over. Moreover, Indigenous Australians living in remote areas develop heart failure on average 20 years earlier than the general population.</p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">So, as Australians continue to explore this vast and varied country, lifesaving innovations like the CellAED defibrillator are playing an increasingly crucial role in ensuring the safety and well-being of adventurers, particularly those in remote areas. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Images: CellAED</span></em></p>

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New world-first tool the size of a choccie bar that could save your life

<p dir="ltr">Demand for a low-cost defibrillator has proven there is a market for AEDs in the home according to Australian MedTech start-up, Rapid Response Revival, which has commenced manufacturing its world-first miniaturised defibrillator, CellAED in Sydney. </p> <p dir="ltr">More than 25,000 pre-orders from Australia alone have been secured for CellAED, which addresses the problem that conventional AEDs (automated external defibrillators) are too expensive for most households. Similar in size to a block of chocolate, designed to be deployed in seconds and priced around the USD250 mark, CellAED is intended to address this significant barrier to reducing the sudden cardiac arrest death toll worldwide.</p> <p dir="ltr">AEDs exist to speed response to sudden cardiac arrest, which kills in minutes and is responsible for more than 6 million deaths worldwide every year.  Around 80 per cent of all sudden cardiac deaths occur in homes, where AEDs are unlikely to be found.</p> <p dir="ltr">CellAED is the result of more than AUD40 million in development funding over five years, with a further USD100 million being sought following the commencement of manufacturing and demonstration of demand its unique medical technology.  Off the back of securing regulatory approvals for CellAED in more than 70 countries, RRR commenced commercialisation through its own channels in late 2021, adding two authorised distributors in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To put our 25,000-plus pre-orders into context, we have research showing there are approximately 18,000 active AEDs in Australia, total.  From a purely commercial perspective, we have created a volume product in a category that is used to low volume sales, relative to the estimated 1.5 million AED &amp; CPR training courses delivered annually in Australia,” said Rapid Response Revival Head of Investor Relations, Damian Shrubsole.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many of our pre-orders are from people at home, buying one for the house, another for the car.  There is also strong demand from businesses that want to introduce affordable AEDs to their environments for the first time, or bolster their network of conventional AEDs already in place.</p> <p dir="ltr">“These pre-orders have proven the appetite for AEDs in the home.  Many of us are at risk of, or living with cardiovascular diseases that put us in danger of sudden cardiac arrest.  We have shown that there are many households aware of that risk, that want to be prepared for the worst,” Mr Shrubsole said.</p> <p dir="ltr">CellAED is currently being manufactured at RRR’s facility in south-west Sydney, much of which was designed from the ground up by RRR’s engineers to accommodate CellAED’s unique design.  While mass production is set to commence in partnership with a large-scale manufacturer in south-east Asia, RRR will also continue manufacturing in Sydney.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is an Australian invention, and future research and development will happen here.  Despite the challenges associated with manufacturing in Australia, we are expanding our Sydney production lines to retain control over our own R&amp;D, and ensure that any future innovation around how CellAED is built starts at home,” said Rapid Response Revival co-founder and CEO, Donovan Casey.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We created CellAED after my partner, Sarah narrowly survived her own sudden cardiac arrest.  Many of the people who have invested in this business also have lived experience – either through their families, or their professions as paramedics, cardiologists and other medical professionals.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sudden cardiac arrest survival rates are less than one per cent globally because it kills quickly, and most people who witness a cardiac arrest don’t have the knowledge, skills or tools to respond in time.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sudden cardiac arrest victims need urgent, rapid defibrillation because every minute without defibrillation and CPR, reduces the chances of revival by 10 per cent.  By getting AEDs into homes, where they’re needed the most, we have an opportunity to save more lives from these terrible events,” Mr Casey added.</p> <p dir="ltr">CellAED is ground-breaking medical technology that emergency first responders, electrocardiologists, first aid trainers and others dedicated to saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest have been waiting for in Australia.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-98f8f92e-7fff-f711-a9ff-e269c2c8e083"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">For more information on CellAED® visit <a href="https://cellaed.io/">cellaed.io</a></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

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