Monday, March 9, 2009

Zoll’s defibrillators to help save lives in Quebec

By Marc Songini

Chelmsford-based resuscitation device systems maker Zoll Medical Corp. will be providing the entire Province of Quebec with defibrillators through a $12 million contract from the Ministry of Health for the Province of Quebec.

Under its terms, Zoll (Nasdaq: ZOLL) will equip all of the province’s ambulances with the Zoll E Series defibrillator. This is the first time, claimed Zoll, that Quebec, geographically Canada’s largest province, has standardized on a single type of defibrillator. This is also Zoll’s largest contract in Canada.

The agreement will be executed region by region through the province; there are 16 regions in all. The first order for the E Series defibrillator has been made by the City of Montreal’s Urgences-Santé, its emergency services provider.

Zoll claimed the E Series offers multiple data transmission options, including transmission of 12-lead ECGs to hospitals, which reduces time to perfusion in S-T segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. Zoll’s embedded Real CPR Help feedback technology provides first responders and advanced paramedics the ability to see how they are performing. Also, the device comes with See-Thru CPR technology, which reduces interruptions in CPR.

Quebec’s medical directors hope that standardizing on one defibrillator platform will make it possible to collect relevant patient data, Zoll claimed.

Zoll makes devices and associated software for cardiac pacing, defibrillation, circulation, ventilation, and fluid resuscitation. It sells its products in more than 140 countries.