Graz-based startup develops world’s smallest defibrillator

© Liimtec

The Graz-based startup liimtec was launched to make the world’s smallest defibrillator. In spite of suitable first aid measures such as heart massage and artificial respiration, the successful rescue of the people affected frequently fails to the lack of defibrillators which can end the resulting cardiac arrhythmias by means of an electric shock.

Defibrillators are expensive, and with the exception of hospitals and professional rescue services, are usually only purchased by large institutions, municipalities and cities. Due to their size and unwieldiness, they are kept at fixed locations, which is often a problem. This is due to the fact that in cases of acute heart failure or cardiac arrest, the first three minutes decide whether the patient will survive or whether he will suffer from long-term damage arising from the undersupply of oxygen to the brain. In many cases the necessary defibrillators are simply not found during these crucial minutes by the first responders who are normally but coincidentally the first to be on site.

The startup presented the “Pocketdefi“, the first defibrillator which is not only affordable for private individuals but is portable due to its small size, and can be carried in a backpack, briefcase, in the luggage compartment of a person’s own car or as part of the emergency equipment the person has at home. The cost of the pocket defibrillator is comparable to current smart phone prices.

The startup, which was also supported with pre-seed funding to the amount of EUR 180,000 by the Public Employment Service Austria, wants to make the defibrillator ready for series production by the summer of 2017.