Standby automatic defibrillator. An approach to prevention of sudden coronary death

A laboratory model of an automatic standby defibrillator has been designed, developed, and tested successfully on dogs. Approximately 50 seconds after a sensor located in the right ventricle detects ventricular fibrillation, a discharge of the order of 30 to 50 wattseconds is delivered automatically to the heart through two electrodes, one which represents an integral part of the intracardiac sensing catheter, and the other positioned under the skin or on the surface of the anterior chest wall. In the event of successful defibrillation the device reverts to a standby condition. It is suggested that this device, when adapted for clinical use, might be implanted temporarily or permanently in selected patients particularly prone to develop ventricular fibrillation and thus provide them with some degree of protection from sudden coronary death.