Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

LIFEPAK 5 DEFIBRILLATOR

Date Range From

1976

Date Range To

2000

Materials

PLASTIC, METAL, CANVAS

No. Pieces

9

Height

13.5

Length

50.5

Width

36

Description

.A - CARRYING CASE, RED AND BLACK WITH WHITE LETTERING ON FRONT THAT READS “LIFEPAK 5 PHYSIO-CONTROL”. SIDE POCKET CONTAINS P20130014000.C - P20130014000.I. VISIBLE WEAR OVERALL. .B - DEFIBRILLATOR DEVICE WITH TWO PADDLES, OFFWHITE IN COLOUR, CONNECTED TO THE MAIN BODY WITH TAN COLOURED SPIRALED CORDS. BODY CONTAINS VARIOUS DIALS AND OUTPUT PRINTER WITH ROLL OF PAPER. .C - SECOND ROLL OF PAPER, LIGHT GREEN, TIGHTLY WRAPPED AROUND BROWN CARDBOARD TUBE, THAT FITS INTO DEFIBRILLATOR'S PRINTER. .D - .H - FIVE WHITE, CIRCULAR SELF-ADHESIVE ELECTRODE PADS, WITH YELLOW BUTTON AT CENTRE AND METAL SNAPS TO CONNECT TO CORD (P20130014000.I). REPEATING "3M RED SPOT" LOGO IN RED AROUND SNAPS. .I - BLACK, RED, AND WHITE CORD, COILED. BLACK END PLUGS INTO DEFIBRILLATOR, RED AND WHITE ENDS CONNECT TO ELECTRODE PADS.

Subjects

MEDICAL & DENTAL T&E

Historical Association

HEALTH SERVICES

SAFETY SERVICES

History

THIS DEFIBRILLATOR WAS USED BY LETHBRIDGE FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES. THE LIFEPAK ™ 5 PORTABLE DC DEFIBRILLATOR/SCOPE WAS FIRST INTRODUCED BY THE PHYSIO CONTROL CORPORATION IN 1976. THIS DEVICE REPRESENTED A SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED WEIGHT REDUCTION AND FUNCTIONALITY COMPARED TO EARLIER MODELS. IT SOON BECAME THE STANDARD OF THE INDUSTRY UNTIL FURTHER IMPROVED MODELS WERE INTRODUCED IN 1991. ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED TREVOR LAZENBY, LIEUTENANT WITH LETHBRIDGE FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, ABOUT THIS DEFIBRILLATOR. LAZENBY TRAINED AS A PARAMEDIC, AND STARTED HIS CAREER IN LETHBRIDGE WORKING AS A DISPATCHER IN 1994. LAZENBY SAID: “SO IN ITS DAY, THIS WAS THE CADILLAC. WE USED THIS. WE HAD ONE LIFEPAK 10 AND A NUMBER OF LIFEPAK 5S… [BY THE LATE 1990S] WE WERE MOVING TO THE 10S, AND THEN THE 10C, BUT WE STILL HAD THESE AROUND. WHEN WE RAN AN ACLS COURSE ON OUR DAYS OFF, TO GET RECERTIFIED THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE USED AND THESE DID FILL IN WHEN THE OTHER ONES WERE DOWN. THIS WAS A FAIRLY RUDIMENTARY DEVICE COMPARED TO THE LIFEPAK 10 IN THAT YOU COULD ONLY LOOK AT THREE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE HEART IN THIS ONE. THIS WAS A HEART MONITOR/DEFIBRILLATOR… IT HAS THIS LITTLE TINY SCREEN THAT YOU COULD SEE THIS LITTLE HEART RHYTHM ON, ALMOST LIKE THE RHYTHM WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT… BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON HERE BEFORE YOU REALLY WANT TO USE THIS, THE DEFIBRILLATOR SIDE, RIGHT? [ON] THE NEW GENERATION ONES… THERE’S NO PADDLES ANYMORE, THEY’RE ALL THOSE STICKY PADS SO THE CONTACT IS BETTER. IT ENSURES BETTER ENERGY DELIVERED THROUGH THE HEART MUSCLE. BUT NOW THE SCREENS THAT YOU LOOK AT THE HEART RHYTHM ON ARE EIGHT INCHES BY EIGHT INCHES…THEY’RE A REAL GOOD SIZE COMPARED TO THIS ONE. THIS ONE ONLY GAVE YOU THREE LEADS TO THE HEART. IT USED TO BURN THE IMPRESSION [OF] THE HEART TRACING ONTO THE PAPER, TO SHOW UP ON THE GRID PAPER. AND THERE WAS NO DIAGNOSTIC MODE SO YOU COULDN’T TELL WITH THIS MACHINE IF SOMEONE WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK OR NOT. WITH THE ECG CHANGES THAT SOMETIMES TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE MYOCARDIUM, YOU COULDN’T TELL THAT ON THIS MACHINE. SO YOU COULD LOOK AT IT AS SORT OF A DIAGNOSTIC AS FAR AS RHYTHM WENT, BUT YOU COULDN’T TELL THE ECG CHANGES AS FAR AS INFARCTION WENT… YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR EQUIPMENT. SO THIS WAS GOOD AT THE TIME, BUT IT WAS FALLING BEHIND.” LAZENBY CONTINUED: “A LOT OF SAFETY ISSUES WENT WITH THAT. IF YOU SLIPPED AND CONTACTED THE PATIENT, YOU COULD DEFIBRILLATE YOURSELF. IT JUST WAS SO UNSAFE TO CONTINUE DOING IT THIS WAY. THAT’S WHY WE’VE SINCE EVOLVED TO THE LIFEPAK 10 AND THE LIFEPAK 12, AND NOW WE’RE USING ZONE MONITORS WHERE EVERYTHING’S STICKY PADS. YOU DON’T TOUCH THE PATIENT ANYMORE… I ALMOST DEFIBRILLATED MYSELF ON THE FLIGHT BETWEEN SLAVE LAKE AND EDMONTON. WE HAD A PATIENT THAT CODED ABOUT A THIRD OF THE WAY TO EDMONTON, AND IT WAS A ROUGH FLIGHT. AND JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD THIS GUY READY TO ‘JUICE’, WE HIT THIS POCKET OF AIR AND THE WHOLE PLANE DROPPED JUST AS I DISCHARGED THE PADDLES. AND I WAS LUCKY THAT NO PART OF HIM WAS TOUCHING THE METAL OF THE STRETCHER BECAUSE MY KNEE, MY LEG ENDED UP RESTING AGAINST THE METAL OF THE STRETCHER… SO YOU CAN SEE I HAVE A FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE SAFETY ISSUE.” LAZENBY CONCLUDED: “THE THING THAT I MISSED TO THE VERY LAST DAY THAT I WAS ON THE AMBULANCE WAS [NO LONGER] BEING ABLE TO USE PADDLES WHEN I DEFIBRILLATED SOMEONE. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS STUPID, BUT PUTTING A DIME-SIZED DROP OF GEL ON THE PADDLES AND RUBBING THEM TOGETHER, AND PUTTING THEM ON THAT GUY’S CHEST, AND DISCHARGING THE ENERGY YOURSELF, WITH THE TRIGGERS ON THE ENDS, I DON’T KNOW, IT JUST SEEMED TO BE LIKE THE COOLEST THING EVER… WE MISSED IT WHEN IT WENT AWAY, BUT WE ALL KNEW, IT WAS FOR THE BETTER.” SEE PERMANENT FILE P20150010001-GA FOR FULL TRANSCRIPTS OF LAZENBY'S INTERVIEW ALONG WITH OTHER FIRE/EMS MEMBERS AND ADDITIONAL RELATED RESEARCH.

Catalogue Number

P20130014000

Acquisition Date

2013-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail