Over 30 defibrillators for Emirates' new fleet

About 100 passengers' lives among almost 2 billion annually are being saved annually through life-support devices on board flights, said aviation and medical experts.

"We are approaching almost 2 billion airline passengers globally per year and our estimate is that about 100 passengers' lives are saved with the life-support systems on board," said Dr Alasdair Beatton, Emirate's head of medical services.

Emirates has placed a fresh order for over 30 Philips Automated External Defibrillator (AED) devices, each retailed for around Dh15,000 in the market, for the new fleet that has already been ordered from Boeing and Airbus.

Emirates introduced the device in its fleet in 1998 that has helped save at least two patients' lives on board.

The Philips FR2 AED is also available at the 11 medical stations at Dubai International Airport.

Dr Beatton said they had first saved the life of a passenger three months after receiving the defibrillator from Philips. "We had our second save last year in African air space aboard a flight to Nairobi. The passenger walked away at the airport.

"The inclusion of the FR2 AED as standard on-board equipment has already helped us save lives. We will continue to make sure FR2 AED is on board all our aircraft, and this new order placed with Philips shows our commitment to this initiative," noted Dr Beatton.

The new version of Philips AED, known as FR2, offers extended features including the heartrate , a voice instruction system which tells the user the condition of the patient and what steps need to be taken.

"It is easy to use. Anyone with a knowledge of first-aid can handle this," said Robert van de Riet, chief executive of Philips Country Organisation for the UAE. "It weighs only 2.1 kilograms. It is powered by a five-year life lithium battery and can apply 300 shocks.

"The retail price of the device is in the region of Dh15,000, including ECG analysis, excluding which the price comes down to Dh12,000.

"This is ideal for hotels, offices, shopping malls, golf clubs and can even be used by individuals. With the low price and userfriendliness, this is an essential device for every place where a number of people usually gather or work."

Philips officials said the Arabic version of the device will shortly be introduced in the market.