Thank you for participating in the MyHeartMap Challenge - Seattle!
More than 2,000 AEDs were reported and team HeartMarket took home the $10,000 Grand Prize!
Although the contest is over, you can still Report AEDs!!
Thanks for helping Seattle stay Heart Safe!
Team HeartMarket took home the grand prize!
Players competed to identify and report the locations of Seattle’s automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs for a cash reward! Prizes ranged from $50 to $10,000!
These electronic, brief-case size devices are designed to allow a bystander to help someone who has collapsed due to a cardiac arrest. AEDs analyze heart rhythm and may provide an electric shock, if necessary, before the arrival of emergency medical providers. Each device has voice and visual prompts that guide bystanders through the steps necessary to help someone with a medical emergency. Cardiac arrests are a leading cause of death in the United States but can be treated if recognized and responded to quickly with an AED.
More than 1.2 million AEDs are now in public places in the United States, and about 180,000 more are installed each year. Sometimes bystanders cannot find the nearest AED during a medical emergency. That’s where the My HeartMap Challenge comes in. Game players will assist University of Washington clinicians by reporting the location of AEDs in community settings throughout Seattle.
- The contest ran from October 15th to November 15th.
- When an AED was located in Seattle, participants reported a brief description of the AED on the contest website.
- A $10,000 grand prize was awarded to HEART MARKET, the team that identified the most unique AEDs.
- Twenty $50 prizes were also available. Twenty AEDs, in the city of Seattle, were pre-selected by the research team as “Golden AEDs.” These were unmarked. The first team to submit a report of a “Golden AED” won $50!
“Most people realize that AEDs are simple enough to use,” Nichol said. “Just follow the voice and other prompts. They are designed to only provide a shock when needed” An AED is usually activated by opening the lid. It begins with visual, recorded and text instructions for baring the patient’s chest and sticking on the pads. Then the machine asks everyone to step back while it analyzes the heart rhythm. It repeats the request to stand clear if it decides to administer a shock. If the rhythm suddenly normalizes before a shock is delivered, the machine will announce a rhythm change and that no shock will occur.
Funders: FDA, Zoll Medical Inc. Philips Healthcare Inc., Physio-Control. Inc. HeartSine Technologies Inc., Cardiac Science Inc