Depending on the type of paddles used, they would sometimes put conductive gel onto the surface of the paddles so that they would make a better electrical connection. Rubbing the paddles together smears the gel more evenly over the surface of the paddles.
I don’t think gel is commonly applied to modern paddles, but this isn’t my field of expertise.
Yep. I recently finished an Emergency! binge on Netflix. This is how they did it.
I wonder if smithsb has seen it–they did it right. The defibrillator showed the heartbeat, and they charged the machine only when the victim was in fibrillation.
Although I did wonder why they bothered calling out the charge reading, since the machine’s tone changed in pitch when it was ready.
My husband the retired paramedic says that as long as you have firm contact between the paddles when you press the button…nothing. That’s how they used to discharge paddles, actually, to test them or to safely put them away after you’d changed your mind about shocking a patient - before they had modern cases that discharge them as you slide them into their storage pockets. Of course, if there is a gap, there will be an arc, but it won’t damage the equipment. “There’s built in diodes to take it.”
He also says that before the gel was used, they’d use saline soaked gauze pads, which sometimes caused arcing, and alcohol soaked gauze pads, which sometimes caused flash fires and burns. :eek:
The pads on an AED have gel built into them. It’s a higher viscosity (thicker) than the manual stuff they used to squeeze on the paddles in Emergency! & is already ideally placed on the pads, so no need to rub it around.
no. The manslaughter occurred when he put one pad of defibrillator into her back.
This would allow current to flow through her body to ground, instead of just from one pad to the other… And since it entered her body near her spine… nerve damage ?
It was only his first week, so he probably hadn’t even had defib training… In training, they will tell you before you touch it " the defib is dangerous , it is a lethal weapon if used wrongly.".