CHELMSFORD, MASS. — ZOLL® Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that it has begun shipments of a new version of its AED Plus® that is fully compliant with the new American Heart Association (AHA) and European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines issued in October of 2010.
The most important change introduced in the new version is the enhanced real-time visual and audio feedback that guides the rescuer to deeper CPR chest compressions. Under the new AHA Guidelines, good compressions now must be at least a full two inches deep as opposed to the 1.5 to two inches required by the earlier 2005 Guidelines. For the ERC Guidelines, a good compression must be at least 5 cm deep as opposed to the earlier 4 cm to 5 cm recommendation. ZOLL recently received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to extend its Real CPR Help® feedback technology to now prompt rescuers to administer compressions of at least two inches.
“Our enhanced Real CPR Help technology allows rescuers to know when their chest compressions are reaching the recommended depth of 2 inches or 5 centimeters. That half-inch, or one centimeter, increase in compression depth may sound small, but the 2010 Guidelines research shows it’s critical to improving survival from cardiac arrest,” said Jonathan A. Rennert, President of ZOLL. “Without Real CPR Help, rescuers have to guess the depth of their compressions. There’s no longer any reason to guess when it comes to the recommended depth.”
About the AED Plus
The ZOLL AED Plus® is the first and only Full-Rescue AED that provides Real CPR Help®. This feedback technology helps rescuers provide high-quality manual CPR with real-time audible and visual feedback to help them achieve the proper depth and rate of CPR chest compressions. The AED Plus guides rescuers through the complete Chain of Survival helping all sudden cardiac arrest victims, not just those who need a shock.
About Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Sudden cardiac arrest, an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, claims more than 1 million lives each year worldwide. It is the leading cause of unexpected death in the world and strikes without warning. Currently, only about 5 percent of victims survive; 95 percent will die from SCA.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, and therapeutic temperature management, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies which help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and critical care.
A NASDAQ Global Select company and a Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Company in 2007, 2008, and 2009, ZOLL develops and manufactures its products in the United States, in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. More than 400 direct sales and service representatives, 1,100 business partners, and 200 independent representatives serve our customers in over 140 countries around the globe. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the future business of the Company, and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are “forward-looking” statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 17, 2010. You should not place undue reliance on the forward looking statements in this press release, and the Company disavows any obligation to update or supplement those statements in the event of any changes in the facts, circumstances, or expectations that underlie those statements.
Copyright © 2011 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. 269 Mill Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824-4105. AED Plus, Real CPR Help and ZOLL are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All product names are the property of their respective owners.
