AEDs Set Up at 32 Locations in the University
In an emergency, your correct judgment and quick action could save a life!

This is what an AED looks like

An AED placed at the Front Gate Reception of the Toyama Campus

Students practising use of an AED during the Fall Evacuation Drill

On June 12, AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) were placed at 32 locations in Waseda University. Although we pray that the AEDs will never be needed, if people don't know how to use them correctly, they might as well not be there. It's essential that all students, teachers and staff members respond adequately and quickly with correct knowledge and understanding.

All the new AEDs are of the portable type. List 1 shows where they're located. If you see an unconscious person in or around the campus, immediately call for help in a loud voice, ring the emergency 119 number, carry out heart and lung resuscitation and then try defibrillation with the AED. If you're the first person on the scene, you should stay with the patient and ask someone else to bring an AED. Once the AED arrives, go straight ahead and use it, following the recorded voice instructions. In a life-threatening situation, it's best to get help from nearby teachers, office staff and security guards. But if trained medical staff, office administrators or security guards are unavailable, and if the patient is in critical condition, you should have no hesitation in carrying out life-saving procedures yourself.

What is an AED?

AED is a medical device which is used to restore normal heart rhythm to patients in cardiac arrest by delivering electronic shocks to the heart. Waseda University has more than 50,000 students and 6,000 teachers and staff members, and it's possible that one day someone walking right in front of you might suddenly collapse with a heart attack. In such a case, how should you respond? First, you should inform a teacher, staff member or security guard and call an ambulance if necessary. While you are waiting for the ambulance, you should apply artificial respiration and AED defibrillation, where possible working with the other students, teachers and staff members.

First you place the adhesive electrode pads on the patient's chest. The device will automatically analyze the patient's heart rhythm and determine if a shock is needed. It will then give you recorded voice instructions. The AED is an effective first aid device in life-threatening situations. It's designed to be safe and fool-proof. For example, it will not deliver a shock if it determines that one is unnecessary. However, an AED works effectively only if the cardiac arrest is caused by a dangerously irregular heart beat. If the cardiac arrest is caused by other factors, the AED is of little use. You don't have to worry about this, however, because the device will determine if you need to use it or not.

Can untrained people use it?

In Japan, only doctors and nurses or ambulance crews under the supervision of a doctor were allowed to use an AED. By 2004, however, the AED's effectiveness in emergency treatment before the arrival of an ambulance, its growing popularity in Europe and the US, and its proven safety and reliability made the Japanese government relax its restrictions and permit ordinary citizens to use it.

Recently, prompt use of AEDs saved the lives of many of the countless visitors to the Aichi International Expo. Here at Waseda, the staff of the Waseda Festival 2005 took part in emergency medical seminars and took every step possible to ensure the safety of people attending the two-day festival, attracting high praise for their efforts.

Anyone can use an AED. For further information on resuscitation and AED use, please refer to the Human Services Center website (Japanese only).

List 1: AED Locations