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Just the other day I was standing in front of triage at St. Luke's when something caught my eye from the other side of the hallway. It was an green CRT screen showing A-Fib, looking up towards the top left of the screen I tried to find the digital numbers showing a pulse rate.... But there were no numbers.... No Pulse rate, Spo2, NIBP, or Co2 readout... Furthermore, that screen was very small, cell phone display small. I then looked at the crew that had brought the patient in. They were sloppy, unshaven and pushing a Ferno that looked like it had seen better days. Realizing this I naturally assumed that the equipment in question must be a Lifepak 10. I then looked to the right of the screen searching for the telltale black paddles to confirming my suspicions. But what was this ? Ivory colored paddles ? It was at that moment that I realized I was staring at a Lifepak 5 ! A Lifepak 5, in the year 2010 ? Yes it had to be a five, the orange colored Physio Control cover pretty much shouted that it was a five. In a few moment the relic was out of my sight as the poorly hygienic crew traveled down the hall with the blast from the past still steadily performing it job, like an iron built steam train traveling into the night and over the horizon into the awaiting dawn.

I know that it shouldn't be such a shock to see an obviously ill managed transfer company using old equipment, we see it everyday in this job, especially if you work in the Harris County area. After my initial shock of the fact that this company had a monitor this old in use, I had since of awe and admiration for this electronic device.

Lets talk about the Lifepak 5 for a minute. The Lifepak 5 was designed between 1974 and 1975, with the first production models reaching the streets around mid 1976. The original designs called for the entire unit, monitor, batteries, paddles and screen to be worn by the paramedic on a bright orange colored belt. (You know that would have been bad ass, it's okay to admit it !) However Seattle Medic 1 (The testbed R & D department) stated that this wouldn't work due to bulkiness of the system while trying to perform ALS skills on scene and in the cramp confines of the patient compartment. I for one can't say I blame them for that decision. Can you imagine trying to extricate someone from a very tight spot with a Batman belt on. I also don't want to imagine what it would be like to have one of those oops moments at 2 AM involving a pair of charged paddles that close to my "twins". To make a long story short Physio Control agreed and decided to change the design.

The biggest change that made the LP5 stand out from all the other defibulators at the time was the overall reduction in size and weight. At the time Physio Control's previous model, the LP4 weighed in at a 45 lbs and it's relative size was equivalent to a 13 in TV.

The Lifepak 4 circa 1974

When the Lifepak 5 came out it literally made all others before it obsolete. The LP5 weight in at a little over 18 lbs and was the size of a small turntable. It was epic....David had just kicked Goliaths ass after school !

You might be wondering why I've made such a big deal about this, why I've spent hours Reviewing a piece of equipment that went out of production 20 years ago ?
The answer is in the history of this simple device that we take for granted everyday. If a person calls 911 complaining of chest pain, they expect EMS to arrive and be able to bring them back to life like on TV. The general public knows that if they were to suddenly drop dead from a heart attack the paramedics would arrive and use the paddles, shout clear and zap them back to life.
Well we all know that things on TV aren't as they seem. We don't save everyone, CPR and cardiac drugs make a difference, the defibrillator being just a tool in a laundry list of things that make resuscitation of a patient possible. And there is always a look of disappointment on John Q Public's face when you tell him " We don't really use the paddles as much anymore".
The lifepak 5 marked a turning point for EMS, we no longer had to decide to bring the monitor or bring the bags based on weight. No longer did we have to deal with inadequate technology that may or may not work today. We could finally deliver excellent cardiac care and not just adequate cardiac care....All because of one simple piece of 1970's technology.
Here is some final words of thought on the matter. The Lifepak 5 was produced from 1976 to 1990, in that time it became the world best selling defibrillator and was in service in over 60 countries. To this day, anywhere on the globe you can probably find one, from a third world mission clinic to the back corner of a supply room in America. If you have a new battery from a Lifepak 12, you can pop it into the old five and it more than likely will work. That says a lot about the build quality of the five, considering that you can't even get an iPhone to work right after three months...In a way the Lifepak 5 was the start of a great number of diagnostic tools for us as EMS professionals to use in the field, everything from pulse oxes to portable ultra sounds can in someway trace back to this device.
Looking back and seeing that old faded and beaten monitor from the other night, I can't helpbut think how many lives it has saved and how many it will save from now until the little green screen refuses to light up again. It is sad knowing that just like all machines, one day all of the LP5's will eventually stop working. But I like to think that It will always have a special place our hearts as the little though monitor that could go to hell and back with a green smile on its face.

My review of the Lifepak 5 is 5 out of 5 stars.

There are a lot of cons on this one, like it doesn't run 12 lead, no NIBP, it has a small screen, blah, blah, blah !
However let me just remind all of you that may have forgotten one thing about the 5 that makes the 10, 12 and 15 look just plain boring..............The 5......Charges to.......400 !!!!!!!!!!!!

-Travis Cloud 11/09/201