Defibrillator Design Challenge
Project status
Collaborators
Austin Kilaru, MD, MSHP
Allison Sellers
Penn School of Design
Innovation leads
Funding
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania
Philips
Zoll
Heartsine
Physio-Control
External partners
Amtrak 30th Street Station
American Heart Association
Opportunity
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major public health problem that affects an estimated 400,000 people in the United States every year. Applying an automated external defibrillator (AED) to patients who have experienced cardiac arrest can save lives. However, little is known about where these devices are located and how to find them.
Intervention
To increase awareness and enhance the visibility of AEDs in public spaces, we launched the Defibrillator Design Challenge in 2014. The public was invited to create, submit, and vote on virtual designs for eye-catching AED artwork on Facebook or Twitter.
Impact
Over eight weeks, 119 designs were submitted by participants from across the country. More than 2,000 individuals cast votes in favor of their favorite artwork, and the designs were shared more than 48,000 times on Facebook and Twitter. In the end, five contest winners were chosen.
The Defibrillator Design Challenge proved the feasibility of using crowdsourcing to promote awareness about AEDs and their locations. It also provides a framework for using design and contest architecture to promote important health messages.