Editing Defibrillation (section)

=== Portable units ===

A major breakthrough was the introduction of portable defibrillators used out of the hospital. Already Peleška's Prema defibrillator was designed to be more portable than original Gurvich's model. In Soviet Union, a portable version of Gurvich's defibrillator, model ДПА-3 (DPA-3), was reported in 1959.<ref name="defibrillation.ru" />  In the west this was pioneered in the early 1960s by Prof. [[Frank Pantridge]] in [[Belfast]].  Today portable defibrillators are among the many very important tools carried by ambulances.  They are the only proven way to resuscitate a person who has had a  cardiac arrest unwitnessed by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) who is still in  persistent ventricular fibrillation or ventricular [[tachycardia]] at the arrival of pre-hospital providers.

Gradual improvements in the design of defibrillators, partly based on the work developing implanted versions (see below), have led to the availability of Automated External Defibrillators. These devices can analyse the heart rhythm by themselves, diagnose the shockable rhythms, and charge to treat.  This means that no clinical skill is required in their use, allowing lay people to respond to emergencies effectively.