PRESS RELEASE: ACT Ambulance paving the way with CellAED® life-saving technology

ACT, 03 April 2024 – The ACT Ambulance Service is the first ambulance service in Australia to equip their Remote Access Paramedics with the innovative CellAED technology, enabling them to carry a life-saving defibrillator to inaccessible locations.
ACT Ambulance has purchased 12 ultraportable CellAED defibrillators to be deployed with their Remote Access Paramedics as part of the ACT Governments investment into their specialist capabilities.
Australian made and owned, CellAED is an ultracompact defibrillator that only weighs 450 g, making it small enough for first responders to carry in their first aid kit for quick accessibility in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.
Canberra Intensive Care Paramedic and Remote Access Paramedic Project Manager Joel Powell knows all too well how important defibrillators can be when it comes to saving lives.
“It all comes down to weight, we need to reduce what the paramedics carry around because often their vehicles need to be left behind when traversing remote and dense bushland,” Mr Powell said.
“CellAED is the perfect weight and size, it helps our Remote Access Paramedics be better equipped for any situation and ensures they have a broad spectrum of fit for purpose tools to save lives.”
Approximately 30, 000 Australians experience a sudden cardiac arrest each year, and of those, less than 5% survive.
The number one factor for survival and recovery from sudden cardiac arrest is early intervention, meaning immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and rapid defibrillation to deliver an electric shock.
For each minute CPR and defibrillation are delayed, the chances of survival decrease by 10%.
Using a defibrillator within the first minute of sudden cardiac arrest, can potentially bring the chance of survival rate up to 70%.
“Our ultraportable technology means remote area first responders no longer need to leave defibrillators behind due to their size or weight when heading into remote areas on foot,” said Mark Hillebrand, Chief Marketing Officer at CellAED.
“This world-first technology is allowing more paramedics to have access to a defibrillator, no matter where they are, potentially saving hundreds of lives.”
Other areas of ACT Government, including the ACT State Emergency Service and the Australian Federal Police are adopting this innovative life-saving technology.
But this technology is not restricted to emergency services. “I live in a street where my neighbours are elderly, so I have purchased a device myself. In the time it takes an ambulance to arrive, CPR can be underway including the use of a defibrillator giving a patient the best chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest.” said Chris Bowyer, Senior Director Transformation and Capability at the ACT Ambulance Service
About ACT Ambulance
The ACT Ambulance Service delivers trusted care to the ACT community and members of the surrounding region. It is staffed with paramedics, intensive care paramedics and non-clinical officers. Non-emergency ambulance services are provided by members of the Non-Emergency Patient Transport (NEPT) team, transporting patients to, from and between hospitals and other medical facilities.
The ACT Ambulance Service also provides intensive care paramedics to the Toll Rescue Helicopter Service (a joint initiative of the governments of New South Wales and the ACT). It provides aeromedical rescue and retrieval services to the ACT and surrounding regional communities within New South Wales.
About CellAED®
Australian made and owned, CellAED® is a product of Rapid Response Revival and designed to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) by making a personal defibrillator that is affordable, accessible, effective, and easy-to-use in the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).
SCA is a medical emergency that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating effectively, preventing blood from being pumped around the body. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Within seconds, a person in SCA will collapse, become unresponsive, and stop breathing normally. The time critical steps in the treatment of SCA include calling emergency services, starting CPR, and retrieving a defibrillator. For each minute CPR and defibrillation are delayed, the chances of survival decrease by 10%. Every minute counts.
CellAED® is designed to empower someone to be prepared to help save a life of someone they care about in the event of witnessing a sudden cardiac arrest.

Contacts:
ACT Ambulance: [email protected]
CellAED: Jocelyn Morris [email protected]