PAD – Public Access Defibrillation. It is a concept that we strongly believe in, enabling quick access to automated external defibrillators. It does, however, come with a trade off: Security and guarantee of the device itself vs. easy access when needed.

Everyone can become a bystander and public access literally means when needed these devices can be taken and brought to the patient by everyone. Most, if not all public access AEDs are stored in cabinets, often referred to as outdoor cabinets. These can be cooled or heated or even both, depending on the region that you are in. All aimed at keeping the livesaving device within its manufacturer-approved temperature range. Where opinions seem to differ is when it comes to locked vs. unlocked cabinets.

Because theft and vandalism do happen. Not everywhere and the percentages are low, but AEDs do get stolen. In our experience they are typically carried only a few hundred yards and then thrown away. After all, an AED is pretty useless apart from its intended use and you can’t really list a device with an imprinted serial number on eBay. Fortunately, the CardiLink tracking will help you pick up these devices again.

Theft and vandalism are why some cabinets are locked and you need to type in a pin code for example. Other cabinets come with a lead or a seal, which need to be broken when the AED is accessed. Or the cabinet is completely unlocked, but gives off an accoustic or visual alert when opened. The variations are endless. Which makes the case of the AED that would not stop moving even more curious.

Here is the story: This device was placed by one of our partners in their city right in front of the main train station. Easy to locate, easy to access and with signage around. All of a sudden, this device started sending breadcrumbs, GPS coordinates, indicating that it was on the move. But it wasn’t, the breadcrumbs where all coming from the same place, clearly indicating that this AED was still in its intended location stored in the cabinet in front of the main train station. We had a similar case, in our early days, with autumn winds in the Netherlands where the wind would hit the cabinet strong enough to trigger the motion detection. That was quite something, with hundreds of AEDs all of a sudden on the move. And our partner on the phone, demanding an explanation. A firmware update solved that one.

But this was just one device. So why was it moving?

As it turned out, this AED ended up in the middle of a newly opened construction site! The solution was to turn off the motion detection remotely until the construction was finished.

What are you experiences with AED location tracking?