Whether you keep it at your home or your workplace, an automated external defibrillator or AED is a significant part of your medical emergency toolkit. With little training, anyone can use an AED to save the life of a person suffering from irregular heartbeats or a cardiac arrest. An easy to operate device, AED’s delivers an electric shock to the heart to help a person survive a cardiac arrest. As it is a smart device, the AED will deliver the shock only when it is required.
If you’re looking to purchase an AED, the first thing you’ll need to decide is whether to purchase a recertified or new unit. To make an informed decision, you must find out the difference between a recertified vs new AED before purchasing a defibrillator. To make things easy for you, the following is what each aforementioned AED refers to.
New AEDs
Obvious from the name, new AEDs are freshly manufactured automated external defibrillators with fresh batteries and pads. All new AEDs come with a warranty though the years of warranty are not uniform and depend on the manufacturer. Generally, the lifespan of new AEDs is ten to thirteen years. Before being put on the market, new AEDs are rigorously tested. Though they are more expensive than recertified AEDs, but new AEDs allow users to enjoy the full life of the device.
Recertified AEDs
A cheaper alternative to new defibrillators, recertified AEDs are used AEDs that have been put back on the market after being thoroughly tested and recertified. Generally, before they are put back on the market, recertified AEDs are:
- Tested to ensure they pass the self-test process
- Attached to patient simulator to ensure they respond properly
- Given new battery and electrode pads
- Updated with latest software
- Externally cleaned and inspected
An AED is labeled as recertified for several reasons. Some of the units that come in to be recertified have been swapped out from a lease program that provides a New AED every three years. Others come in on trades, or a company going out of business and no longer needs their AED. An AED is put back on the market as a recertified AED only after it has gone through an extensive testing process. After it is inspected by an Certified Biomedical Technician, a recertified AED must go through a defibrillator analyzer test. To pass this test, the recertified defibrillator must deliver three shocks as stated in FDA specifications. If it passes the aforementioned test, the recertified AED is perfectly cleaned, given a new battery, new pads, and put in its carrying case. Generally, a recertified AED is sold at half the price of a new unit.
Although they are cheaper, recertified AEDs are by no means inferior to new automated external defibrillators. In fact, some recertified AEDs available today have the ability to deliver a shock of up to 360 joules of energy: this is the highest shock any AED can generate.
New and recertified AEDs are equally good at helping a person survive a sudden cardiac arrest so you should purchase an AED type best suited to your needs and budget.