BIA receives Nihon Kohden Automated External Defibrillator from Hemas Surgicals & Diagnostics

Hemas Surgicals and Diagnostics Managing Director Jude Fernando handing over the AED to Airport and Aviation Company Chairman Major General (Rtd.) G.A. Chandrasiri

Demonstration of the machine conducted by Consultants from the College of Anaesthetists

‘Sudden deaths’ due to cardiac arrest has become one of the leading causes of deaths in Sri Lanka. Receiving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and an electric shock to the heart from a defibrillator immediately during a cardiac arrest, gives a 50%-70% chance of survival. 

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a device made for non-medical personnel to deliver an electric shock to a patient in an emergency. The device is fully automated and gives voice commands, allowing anyone with a basic training to operate it. Identifying the need for an AED at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), which receives around 1.5 million passengers every year, Hemas Surgicals and Diagnostics Ltd., donated a Nihon Kohden AED at the request of the College of Anaesthetists. 

The handing-over ceremony was held recently at the Silk Route Lounge with the participation of Airport and Aviation Company Ltd. Chairman Major General (Rtd.) G.A. Chandrasiri, Hemas Surgicals and Diagnostics Managing Director Jude Fernando, Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. S. Sridharan, College of Anesthetists and Intensivists President Dr. Anoma Perera, and National Resuscitation Council Chairperson Dr. Nilmini Wijesooriya. 

The Nihon Kohden AED can be used by anyone with a basic training of CPR and AED usage. The machine has two pads which, once pasted to the patient’s chest, will analyse the ECG rhythm and give voice commands to direct the operator. If a shock treatment is needed, the machine will prompt the command and charge itself within a few seconds to deliver the shock to the patient’s heart. There is no space for error as the commands from the machine are based on the patient’s ECG analysis.

Speaking at the occasion Hemas Surgicals and Diagnostics Ltd. Managing Director Jude Fernando stated, “An average of two cardiac related medical emergencies are reported every month at the BIA. Therefore, having a highly sophisticated machine such as the AED made by Nihon Kohden Corporation, Japan installed at the airport, helps the timely intervention of attending to such medical emergencies. It further boosts the image of the BIA as a passenger-friendly airport.”

Following the donation, a demonstration of the machine was conducted by Consultants from the College of Anaesthetists. Training programs for the general public on CPR and AED usage have been conducted by The College of Anesthetists and Intensivists of Sri Lanka commencing from the World Re-start a Heart Day since October 2022. The staff of BIA will also undergo similar training to be well equipped in handling a cardiac arrest situation at the airport. 

Nihon Kohden Corporation is a world leader in manufacturing lifesaving medical devices and Hemas Surgicals and Diagnostics Ltd. is the sole agent of Nihon Kohden products in Sri Lanka.