

Developer Saved Years Later by His Own Hardware - semanticist
http://hackaday.com/2015/02/06/developer-saved-years-later-by-his-own-hardware/

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smoyer
This is a great story about the power of AEDs to save lives. I lost a younger
cousin almost 15 years ago [1] but since then my aunt and uncle have worked
tirelessly to have them put in public places around our state (and others). My
sister's place-of-employment installed several and two people have been saved
just there.

There are hundreds of stories like this one and you can help. Take an AED
training class - Make sure they're installed in public places in your area -
Donate to make sure they're installed in other places.

The life you save might be your own!

[1] [http://gregaed.org/](http://gregaed.org/)

~~~
szczys
Yeah, I found Chris' mention of having to deal with different regulations from
state to state (which only allowed an MD to administer shocks to a patient) an
interesting tidbit that went along with bringing this to market. I understand
why those were in place and am glad that the tech has become reliable enough
to loosen those restrictions.

~~~
imglorp
Such regs are costing lives.

There have been studies where AEDs were put in airports and such and lay
persons successfully followed the directions and saved lives with them.
They're very dummy proof at this point: place sticky pads where a picture
shows you, turn it on, and follow the voice prompts. Even if you don't know
CPR, you can help by trying this.

As further safety, the DSP software has a bunch of safeguards to only shock
the types of bad rhythms it knows how to correct, so it can't hurt a normal
person if the AED is mistakenly applied; it can only help a v-fib one.

Training won't hurt; the Red Cross course for combined CPR and AED is only a
few hours. But there is benefit from none at all.

I've personally brought someone back with an AED and the experience changed my
life.

~~~
lucaspiller
In the UK the Resucitation Council issued a statement in 2009 recommending
that they can be used by anyone, even without training:

[https://www.resus.org.uk/pages/AEDtrnst.htm](https://www.resus.org.uk/pages/AEDtrnst.htm)

They are still few and far between, outside of big railway stations I haven't
seen any in public. I think one of the issues is people are unfamiliar with
how easy they are to use.

All workplaces (above a certain, fairly low, level) are required to have first
aid trained staff around at all times. The training only includes CPR though;
adding AED training seems like an easy way to make people a lot more aware of
them.

~~~
imglorp
They're getting pretty common in US workplaces, especially health clubs,
airports, liability-aware offices, etc.

Some here are in a cabinet that phones emergency services when the AED is
removed; that's an especially good feature.

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shabble
For those wondering just what's inside, Mike (of Mike's Electric Stuff[0]) has
some excellent teardowns with commentary on a few[1][2]. The engineering
constraints (high reliability with low maintenance, instructing the user how
to operate it, etc) make them very interesting machines.

[0] [http://electricstuff.co.uk/](http://electricstuff.co.uk/)

[1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-
Wv9YAfv0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-Wv9YAfv0)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWC22NufDUo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWC22NufDUo)

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compto35
Go Green!

No but really, this is like, every engineer's dream that his creation would
someday save him

~~~
creeble
Go Green indeed!

Amazingly enough, I programmed on the same CDC 6500 at MSU in the '70s. By the
time I got there, the school had lost its EE credentials, and I was torn
between a music degree at MSU and EE somewhere else.

Technically, I guess I'm still deciding.

So as not to be too OT, I've taken the AED training course, and it's really
simple. Doing it when there's a guy (or gal) on the floor in front of you is
probably tougher.

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spiritplumber
I guess this is some good instant karma!

~~~
delecti
Arguably "years later" isn't instant.

~~~
logfromblammo
Karma came from a culture that believes in reincarnation. It is payback for
your behavior in past lives. "Instant karma" is therefore payback for your
behavior in your current lifetime, without an intervening turn of the samsara
cycle.

If you kicked a puppy right before you died, and got slapped too hard just as
you were born into your next life, that's regular karma. If you stole
someone's car for a joyride when you were 16, and your car was stolen by a
joyrider when you were 90, that's instant karma. The number of intervening
years is not the important factor, but the number of intervening rebirths.

~~~
muraiki
It seems that there are various interpretations of karma. Dogen, founder of
the Soto Zen school, taught that karma can be experienced in this same life. I
swear I've read far earlier sources discuss karma in a manner outside of
rebirth in samsara, but I can't find those sources at this time.

~~~
peri
I can't help you on the religious origins of this, but the concept got
introduced to me by a game by this dude named Richard Garfield in the early
90s. If I recall correctly, the term that that dude and a bunch of other WotC
folks used was "mana".

It took a while before I learned that it was apparently a term in hawaiian
slang, but it usually seems appropriate, especially when you're discussing
this with folks old enough to remember alpha, beta, and unlimited Magic: the
Gathering.

