AED Link is Lifesaving Technology

The Atrus AED Link™ system is an innovative, end-to-end solution that helps 911 dispatch agencies substantially and cost-effectively increase the benefits of publicly placed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) deployed in the community.

The Atrus AED Link system offers mission-critical AED location data to 911 dispatchers via a regularly updated geographic information system (GIS) map layer. This map layer enables dispatchers to know the whereabouts of nearby registered AEDs so they can help those on-scene get these lifesaving devices to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) victims faster, thereby increasing the chances that lives will be saved.

How Atrus’ AED Link System Fills a Critical Information Gap

When sudden cardiac arrest strikes, bystanders immediately call 911. However, 911 dispatchers generally lack information about the presence and location of AEDs at or nearby an SCA victim. To address this critical information gap, Atrus created and manages the National AED Registry™ (www.NationalAEDRegistry.com). It is the first and only national database resource specifically designed to help improve SCA survival rates by rapidly linking AEDs, AED users and SCA victims.

The National AED Registry is a robust data repository containing information about the presence and location of registered, publicly accessible AEDs. This information is used by the AED Link system to generate and transmit a GIS map layer showing 911 dispatchers the locations of registered AEDs at and nearby SCA victims.

Public Safety Benefits of the Atrus AED Link System

Today, publicly available AEDs are rarely retrieved and used because bystanders generally can’t see them and 911 dispatchers are unaware they are nearby. In fact, statistics provided by the CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival) Registry, a collaborative effort between the CDC and Emory University, indicate that publicly available AEDs are used less than 5% of the time when needed and available. As a result, SCA victims are dying at locations at or nearby publicly placed AEDs.