Cochin International Airport Limited on Saturday installed automated external defibrillator (AED) in its passenger terminals to provide emergency treatment if a passenger suffers a cardiac arrest.
At a brief function held here in the morning, the Powerheart AEDs were presented to the airport operator by Optro Circuits- a Bangalore based medical equipment manufacturer, in conjunction with the Heart Care Foundation.
CIAL managing director V.J. Kurien received the equipment from cardiac surgeon Jose Chacko Periyappuram, patron of the Heart Care Foundation on behalf of Optro Circuits.
The AED is a portable electronic device that diagnoses a potentially life-threatening cardiac arrest and treats patients through defibrillation – the application of electrical shock to restore normal heart beat until proper medical attention arrives.
The equipment is of great use in a crowded terminal if a commuter exhibits symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest like unresponsiveness and no breathing. In such an emergency, brain damage or death can occur in just four to six minutes.
According to the CIAL, the service of the system will be extended to any individual who is coming to the airport. Some of the staff of CIAL will be trained in the use of the machine by the Heart Care Foundation.
