Nerdy post, probably only interesting for the active CardiLink user. Nevertheless, it is important to understand the meaning of those colors! What started with a simple traffic light structure quickly evolved into a comprehensive framework of symbols and colors detailing the state of automated external defibrillators managed via the platform.

The keyword here is AED state: Two seemingly identical AEDs can be in very different states of operation and maintenance. Imagine two visually identical devices, sitting next to each other, both indicating their readiness (which is done in different ways by different vendors, an example could be a green LED blinking or the word OK on a small screen). Although the two devices you imagine seem to be identical, their batteries can be in very different states. Wouldn’t it be tremendous to have access to their exact battery percentage at a glance? What about their service and maintenance records, or the expiration date of the electrodes?

In the ideal world, all AEDs would be IoT-connected (IoT standing for Internet of Things), especially if that is the product that you are selling. But to be honest, that is not always necessary, there are many use cases where responsible people pass by their AEDs on a daily basis and can visually check on their devices. Still, wouldn’t it be nice if that was also reported, if there was some mechanism of documentation and control behind it? Next to that, there are a vast majority of use cases where managing a fleet of IoT-connected AEDs from a single dashboard is a smart and cost-effective solution.

As you can already tell by this introduction, it makes sense to categorize AEDs into different categories which we refer to as a state. The following are the states that we are currently using and we are eager to learn from your experience if they would be enough for your AED project or if you envision additional, more customized states that AEDs could possibly be in.

The Green State

“OK”, “Ready”, “Perfect” are all fitting terms to describe this state.

An AED indicated in green in the CardiLink platform is an IoT-connected device.

This means the self-test data has been received at the expected time and there are no errors in the self-test (there are differences between vendors with regards to self-tests, example are Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Quarterly self-tests); further, the location of the AED is confirmed, the electrodes have not expired and battery percentages of the AED and the communication module are sufficient. Green indicates a ready device in a confirmed location.

The Blue State

Blue is new. Blue stands for non-connected.

It is still a managed device, blue means this AED is under service and it will turn yellow and later on red if the electrodes expire or if the batteries expire or if scheduled maintenances is overdue.

Within the platform, blue is an opt-in state, which can be done either via the dashboard from a laptop or PC or even more conveniently via the CardiLink smartphone app. Like green devices, blue devices have accompanying and helpful data stored about them (e.g. accessibility information; like opening hours for when this device is accessible).

The Yellow State

Yellow means action required.

Not today, but in due time. This AED state can indicate that electrodes are about to expire, maintenances are coming up, batteries of the AED or the communication module are lower than a pre-defined threshold or in the case of IoT-connected AEDs yellow can also indicate that AED has left its home location and has not yet returned.

Like in the example to the right, a clear message describes the reason why this device is listed in yellow.

The Red State

Red is not good. In fact, red is the whole reason why we started CardiLink in the first place back in 2016.

Red indicates an AED that is not ready for use.

The reasons for this could be maintenances overdue, electrodes expired, batteries flat or self-test data with errors received among others.

For you, red means quick action is required. That is what we wish for. Or, if this is a managed AED, the best practice has been agreed service levels whereby a responsible party would ensure that this device is green or blue again e.g. within 48 hours.

Next to the aforementioned described states, there are grey devices in the platform. Grey indicates AEDs that are verified, so they do exist, but are not yet placed at their intended location. AEDs indicated in grey might still be in transit or on stock in a warehouse. You might ask how AED data of grey devices gets into the platform in the first place? That leaves room for another blog post, let’s just say we always like to validate and we only accept AEDs into the platform that we know for sure have a valid serial number and origin.

Saving lives is a team effort and we hope that with our colors we provide you with the right tool set to ensure the uptime and accessibility of your AEDs.

Let us know your thoughts below.