Zoll Medical has launched its FDA-cleared OneStep paediatric CPR electrodes on the US market, believed to be the only electrodes on the market with a built-in sensor that reports CPR quality on young children up to eight years of age. This "first-of-its-kind" electrode provides optimal support for paediatric resuscitation when paired with the Zoll R Series monitor/defibrillator and its CPR Dashboard.
The R Series is believed to offer the most extensive paediatric capabilities available in a professional defibrillator with paediatric support. The OneStep CPR paediatric electrodes can be used for monitoring, pacing, and defibrillation, as well as CPR. The FDA-cleared CPR Dashboard for the R Series reports the actual depth and rate of compressions delivered. A CPR timer gauges the CPR periods for optimal ventilation, while a metronome is activated if the rate falls below 100 compressions per minute. CPR data can be reviewed after the code and used for quality improvements.
In addition, Zoll’s See-Thru CPR, a proprietary filter that allows clinicians to see if an organised rhythm is developing during CPR, is also active with the paediatric CPR pads. See-Thru CPR helps to reduce the duration of interruptions to CPR and speeds time to shock when indicated.
In the event of a cardiac arrest, as soon as the paediatric electrodes are placed on the patient, the R Series immediately adjusts its AED analysis algorithm to paediatric parameters in order to reduce the likelihood that a compensating rhythm will be terminated. This ensures that any unique paediatric ECG morphology will be accurately identified when a shock is indicated. When the paediatric electrodes are attached to the R Series, the shock energy is automatically lowered to a starting dose of 50 joules. The R Series then measures the actual patient impedance and adjusts accordingly, delivering sufficient current for effective conversion while not delivering inaccurate energy to the child. The R Series can be configured to automatically lower the setting to whatever dose is desired, even as low as one joule.