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CobaltNiche Leads Lifesaving Equipment Boom

01 April 2005

Portable defibrillators used to treat cardiac arrests will become a standard fixture in Australian public spaces, according to Jack Magree, director of CobaltNiche, who have recently designed the Samaritan PAD™ (Portable Automatic Defibrillator).

“There is a booming global market for ‘easy to use’ advanced medical equipment, and Australian design companies have all the skills and expertise to tap into this market,” said Mr Magree. “CobaltNiche is a small company of 11 employees but we’re working on cutting-edge products that promote our design skills and engineering expertise on the world stage.”

The unique design of the Samaritan PAD™ has seen CobaltNiche nominated in the upcoming 2005 Australian Design Awards.

Portable defibrillators are already found in most schools, museums, sports stadiums and other public buildings across the United States, and some Australian public buildings also now provided them.

“They’re small, so easy to use a child can operate them, and they save lives,” he said. “I expect people will increasingly include them in first aid kits at home, in cars and on yachts.”

CobaltNiche worked in partnership with Irish company, Heartsine Technologies Pty Ltd, to develop the revolutionary Samaritan PAD™. It weighs just 1kg and simple voice commands and diagrams guide users on its operation.

In a world first, the software that Heartsine has developed allows the electrode pads of the Samaritan PAD™ to calculate the body mass of cardiac arrest patients, and it delivers the appropriate electric charge for each body type.

CobaltNiche was responsible for the revolutionary and unique packaging of the unit, which is shaped like a lifesaving ring. It took the company six months to develop, and the Samaritan PAD™ is one of the smallest and most advanced portable defibrillators in the world.

Defibrillators are used for cardiac arrest, when the heart beats irregularly (distinct from heart attacks, when the heart stops). A defibrillator delivers a small electric charge that returns the heart rate to a normal rhythm. They can significantly increase the survival rate of people who suffer cardiac arrest.

CobaltNiche is particularly proud of the Samaritan PAD™ because it required the company to demonstrate the innovative solutions it provided.

“When we design products like the Samaritan PAD™ we must meet specific manufacturing and medical standards for different countries, and they must pass stringent testing requirements,” said Mr Magree. “At the same time, we need to make it functional and it has to meet the visual requirements for marketing a product.”

CobaltNiche designs products for a wide range of industries, including for the medical, scientific, ITC, retail, sport & leisure, emergency services, and automotive sectors. International clients are based in the United States and Europe.

“Benchmarking our design skills and winning contracts against international competitors is important because it keeps our skills sharp and demonstrates that CobaltNiche has a world-class team,” Mr Magree said.

“In the case of the Samaritan PAD™ we also get the satisfaction of knowing we’re involved in developing something that saves lives.”

The Samaritan PAD™ is already on sale in the United States and Europe will become available in Australia by mid 2005.