news & blueViews

“The Samaritan PAD [is] a ‘standout product’ for the future of specialist design and manufacturing in Australia”

22 April 2005

Georgina Safe reported in The Australian newspaper on 22 April 2005:
Small Players Show Grand Designs

A PORTABLE device to treat heart-attack victims and a mousetrap that saves people from seeing or touching the rodent are among the finalists in the Australian Design Awards (http://www.designawards.com.au/) to be announced tonight in Melbourne.

A malleable bicycle light and a surfboard fin used by Layne Beachley are also on the diverse and colourful shortlist for the annual awards in recognition of national design excellence.

"It is very difficult to come up with something new, something creative that no one has done before, but every year we find products that do stretch that barrier and truly innovate." ADA director Brandon Gien said.

"It seems there is no end to creativity."

This year, it is small entrepreneurs, rather than the big-name brands, that dominate the event.

"This is the year of the little Aussie entrepreneur,"' ADA manager Stephanie Watson said.

"Smaller Australian companies which have created products that have taken the world by storm."

They include Jack Magree, director of CobaltNiche Design in Melbourne, who has designed the device to save heart-attack victims.

He claims his product, the Samaritan PAD, is a world-first automated external defibrillator to treat sudden cardiac arrest. Unlike other defibrillators, it automatically measures and adjusts the charge size for patients to match their condition and physical build. This, coupled with the PAD's voice and visual prompts, means someone with only basic first-aid skills can be guided through the life-saving process.

"It is suitable for use anywhere by almost anyone," Mr Magree said.

Mr Gien said the Samaritan PAD was a "standout product" for the future of specialist design and manufacturing in Australia. "We are increasingly seeing mass-market manufacturing taking place in China," Mr Gien said. "That is resulting in the industry here refocusing on developing low volume but high-end products using specialised technology, in the medical and scientific fields in particular."

International success stories include the Cochlear bionic ear implant and ResMed, the Australian company specialising in sleep apnoea products. Mr Magree hopes inclusion of his design in the ADA awards will boost his own chances overseas.

"Certainly, I would hope for an increased profile for the product," he said.