Methods, systems and apparatuses for double defibrillations

Abstract

A double defibrillation system employs a base defibrillator (40) and a relay defibrillator (50). In operation, the base defibrillator (40) conditionally initiates a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to a patient when the base defibrillator (40) is electrically coupled to the patient, and the relay defibrillator (50) responsively initiates a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient when the relay defibrillator (50) is electrically coupled to the patient and in response to a receipt by the relay defibrillator (50) of a trigger signal indicative of one of a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40) or a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure generally relates to defibrillation for patients experiencing cardiac arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation), and more particularly to a double simultaneous defibrillation and a double sequential defibrillation for such patients. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 illustrates a double sequential electrode placement on adult male patient 10 experiencing a cardiac arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation) as known in the art of the present disclosure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a standard anterolateral electrode placement on adult male patient 10 encompasses an electrode pad 20 placed on an upper right torso of adult male patient 10 below a collarbone of patient 10, and electrode pad 21 placed on a lower left torso of adult male patient 10 below a pectoral muscle of adult male patient 10. Further, a standard anteroposterior electrode placement on adult male patient 10 encompasses an electrode pad 22 placed to a left of a spine of patient 10 below a scapula of patient 10 at the heart level, and electrode pad 23 placed on an anterior wall of a left chest muscle of adult male patient 10. During defibrillation of the cardiac arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation), in a sequential order, an anterolateral defibrillation vector 30 in terms of defibrillation waveform magnitude and direction extends between electrode pads 20 and 21 to thereby deliver a shock to a heart of adult male patient 10, and an anteroposterior defibrillation vector (symbolized by the X in electrode pads 22 and 23) in terms of defibrillation waveform magnitude and direction extends between electrode pads 22 and 23 to thereby deliver an additional subsequent shock to the heart of adult male patient 10. This is known in the art of the present disclosure as a double sequential defibrillation. Alternatively during defibrillation of the cardiac arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation), anterolateral defibrillation vector 30 in terms of defibrillation waveform magnitude and direction extends between electrode pads 20 and 21 to thereby deliver a shock a heart of adult male patient 10, and anteroposterior defibrillation vector (symbolized by the X in electrode pads 22 and 23) in terms of defibrillation waveform magnitude and direction extends between electrode pads 22 and 23 to thereby deliver a simultaneous shock to the heart of adult male patient 10. This is known in the art of the present disclosure as a double simultaneous defibrillation. The field of resuscitation, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 1, is heavily focused on increasing a quality of care by identifying and providing optimal defibrillation treatment for patients experiencing arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure is directed to double simultaneous defibrillations and double sequential defibrillations of a cardiac arrythmia (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation) for facilitating a methodical timing of a pair of defibrillations, simultaneously or sequentially, to a patient experiencing a cardiac event, particularly cardiac arrythmia. The present disclosure can be embodied as (1) a double defibrillation system, (2) a relay defibrillator, and (3) a double defibrillation method. Various exemplary embodiments of a double defibrillation system of the present disclosure encompass a base defibrillator and a relay defibrillator. The base defibrillator is configured to conditionally initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to a patient when the base defibrillator is electrically coupled to the patient. The relay defibrillator is configured to responsively initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient (1) when the relay defibrillator is electrically coupled to the patient and (2) in response to a receipt by the relay defibrillator from one of the base defibrillator or the patient of a trigger signal indicative of one of (a) a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator or (b) a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator. The indication of the preset initiation facilitates a double simultaneous defibrillation between the base defibrillator and the relay defibrillator, and the indication of the preceding initiation facilitates a double sequential defibrillation between the base defibrillator and the relay defibrillator. Various exemplary embodiments of a relay defibrillator of the present disclosure encompass a trigger relay and a supplemental shock source. The trigger relay is configured to responsively initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shock source (1) when the supplemental defibrillator is electrically coupled to the patient and (2) in response to a receipt by the supplemental defibrillator from one of the base defibrillator or the patient of a trigger signal indicative of one of (a) a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator or (b) a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator. The indication of the preset initiation facilitates either a double simultaneous defibrillation or a double sequential defibrillation by the relay defibrillator with the base defibrillator, and the indication of the preceding initiation facilitates a double sequential defibrillation the relay defibrillator with the base defibrillator. Various exemplary embodiments of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure encompass a base defibrillator and a relay defibrillator both electrically coupled to a patient. In operation, the base defibrillator conditionally initiates a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to the patient. The relay defibrillator responsively initiates a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the relay defibrillator in response to a receipt by the relay defibrillator from one of the base defibrillator or the patient of a trigger signal indicative of one of (1) a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator or (2) a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator. The indication of the preset initiation facilitates either a double simultaneous defibrillation or a double sequential defibrillation between the base defibrillator and the relay defibrillator, and the indication of the preceding initiation facilitates a double sequential defibrillation between the base defibrillator and the relay defibrillator. The foregoing exemplary embodiments and other embodiments of the present disclosure as well as various structures and advantages of the present disclosure will become further apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of various embodiments of the present disclosure read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present disclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the present disclosure being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will present in detail the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates conventional electrode pad placements for a double defibrillation of a patient experiencing a cardiac arrythmia as known in the art of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary embodiments of a double defibrillation system of the present disclosure; FIG. 3A illustrates a flowchart representative of a first exemplary embodiment of a double defibrillation method in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary execution of the flowchart of FIG. 3 A in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. 4A illustrates a flowchart representative of a second exemplary embodiment of a double defibrillation method in accordance with the present disclosure; and FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary execution of the flowchart of FIG. 4A in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 5A illustrates a flowchart representative of a second exemplary embodiment of a double defibrillation method in accordance with the present disclosure; and FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary execution of the flowchart of FIG. 4A in accordance with the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure teaches inventive principles encompassing double defibrillations of a person experiencing a cardiac event (e.g., refractory ventricular fibrillation) to facilitate a methodical timing of the double defibrillations, simultaneously or sequentially, to the patient experiencing the cardiac event. For purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, terms of the art including, but not limited to, “defibrillator”, “defibrillation”, “shock”, “controller”, “relay” and “signal” are to be interpreted as known in the art of the present disclosure. Also for purposes of describing and claiming the present disclosure, the term “base defibrillator” broadly encompasses all defibrillators employing autonomous techniques for conditionally initiating a delivery a defibrillation shock to a patient as known in the art of the present disclosure and herein after conceived (e.g., a shock advisory algorithm), and the term “relay defibrillator” broadly encompasses all defibrillators employing relay techniques for responsively initiating a defibrillation shock to a patient in receipt of a trigger signal from a base defibrillator or an electrode as exemplary described in the present disclosure. To facilitate an understanding of the present disclosure, the following description of FIGS. 2-5B teaches exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. From the description of FIGS. 2-5B, those having ordinary skill in the art of the present disclosure will appreciate how to apply the present disclosure to make and use additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, exemplary embodiments of a double defibrillation system of the present disclosure employs a base defibrillator 40 and a relay defibrillator 50. In practice, base defibrillator 40 is operable to conditionally initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to a heart of a patient as known in the art of the present disclosure and hereinafter conceived (e.g., a monitor / defibrillator, an Automatic External Defibrillator, a Semi-Automatic External Defibrillator and a Manual External Defibrillator). In one exemplary embodiment as shown, base defibrillator 40 can incorporate a shock source 42 structurally configured as known in the art of the present disclosure to store electric energy for generating the primary defibrillation shock as controlled by a defibrillation controller 41, which is configured to execute a shock advisory algorithm or to receive a manual activation as known in the art of the present disclosure for conditionally initiating the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to a heart of a patient via electrode pads 20 and 21. The primary defibrillation shock can have any waveform as known in the art of the present disclosure. Examples of such waveforms include, but are not limited to, biphasic truncated waveform PS as shown in FIG. 2. In practice, relay defibrillator 50 is operable to responsively initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the heart of the patient in response to a trigger signal as exemplary described in the present disclosure. In one exemplary embodiment as shown, relay defibrillator 50 can incorporate a supplemental shock source 52 structurally configured as known in the art of the present disclosure to store electric energy for generating the supplemental defibrillation shock as controlled by a trigger relay 51, which is configured to responsively initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to a heart of a patient by the supplemental shock source 52 via electrode pads 22 and 23, or alternatively, electrode pads 20 and 22. The supplemental defibrillation shock can have any waveform as known in the art of the present disclosure. Examples of such waveforms include, but are not limited to, a biphasic truncated waveform SS as shown in FIG. 2. In accordance with a first mode of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure, base defibrillator 40 can be further operable to transmit a trigger signal TSI to relay defibrillator 50 as a basis for implementing a double simultaneous defibrillation or a double sequential defibrillation as will be further described herein with the description of FIGS. 3 A and 3B. In accordance with a second mode of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure, base defibrillator 40 can be further operable to transmit a pulse signal to the patient to thereby generate a trigger signal TS2 via the patient, whereby the trigger signal TS2 is transmitted from the patient via electrode(s) to relay defibrillator 50 as a basis for implementing a double simultaneous defibrillation or a double sequential defibrillation as will be further described herein with the description of FIGS. 4A and 4B. In accordance with a third mode of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure, base defibrillator 40 can be further operable to deliver the primary defibrillation shock to the patient to thereby deliver a defibrillation to the patient and to generate a trigger signal, whereby the trigger signal is transmitted from the patient via electrode(s) to relay defibrillator 50 as a basis for implementing a double sequential defibrillation as will be further described herein with the description of FIGS. 5 A and 5B. For any mode of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure, primary defibrillation controller 41 broadly encompasses all structural configurations of an application specific main board or an application specific integrated circuit housed within or linked to defibrillator for controlling an application of various inventive principles of the present disclosure as subsequently described herein with the description of FIGS. 3A-5B. The structural configuration of the controller can include, but is not limited to, processor(s), computer-usable / computer readable storage medium(s), an operating system, application module(s), peripheral device controller(s), slot(s) and port(s). The application module(s) broadly encompass an electronic circuit or an executable program (e.g., executable software and / firmware) for executing a specific application. Also for any mode of a double defibrillation method of the present disclosure, trigger relay 51 broadly encompasses all structural configurations of an electronic relay or relay circuit employing hardware, software and / or firmware for activating supplemental shock source 51 based on receipt of a trigger signal from base defibrillator 40 or one or more of the electrodes 2023. In practice, the activating of the supplemental shock source 51 can be instantaneous in receipt of the trigger signal or can have a time delay in receipt of the trigger signal. Referring to FIG. 3A, flowcharts 60 and 70 are representative of the first mode of a double defibrillation method in the present disclosure that are executable by primary defibrillation controller 41 and trigger relay 51, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a stage S62 of flowchart 60 encompasses primary defibrillation controller 41 awaiting a shock advisory from a shock advisory algorithm as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, whereby, upon a determination of a shock advisory during stage S62, primary defibrillation controller 41 proceeds to a stage S64 of flowchart 60 to control a transmission of trigger signal TSI to second defibrillator 50. Concurrently or with a predefined delay, base defibrillator controller 41 will commence a time period whereby, upon expiration of the time period during a stage S66 of flowchart 60, primary defibrillation controller 41 proceeds to a stage S68 of flowchart 60 to initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock (e.g., PS) to the patient. Still referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a stage S72 of flowchart 70 encompasses trigger relay 51 awaiting trigger signal TSI from base defibrillator 40. Upon receipt of trigger signal TSI, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage S74 of flowchart 70 to commence a time period, and upon expiration of the time period during a stage S76 of flowchart 70, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage S78 of flowchart 70 to initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock (e.g., SS) to the patient. In one exemplary embodiment of flowcharts 60 and 70, trigger signal TS1 will be an indication of a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator whereby the time period of stage 64 and the time period of stage S74 will coincide to thereby facilitate a double simultaneous defibrillation of the patient. For this embodiment, primary defibrillation controller 41 will delay commence of time period of stage S64 after transmission of the trigger signal to facilitate a commencement of the time periods of stages S64 and S74 at the same time. In a second exemplary embodiment of flowcharts 60 and 70, trigger signal TSI will be an indication of a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator whereby the time period of stage 64 will expire prior to an expiration of the time period of stage S74 to thereby facilitate a double sequential defibrillation of the patient. For this embodiment, the time period for stage S64 can be zero (0) seconds or can be start and / or expire prior to the transmission of trigger signal TSI. While FIG. 3B is shown having a hard wire connection between primary defibrillator 40a and relay defibrillator 50a, in practice, other forms of communication can be utilized, such as, for example, a wireless communication can be implemented between primary defibrillator 40a and relay defibrillator 50a (e.g., Bluetooth). Referring again to FIG. 3 A, flowchart 60 was described in the context of base defibrillator 40a being an automatic external defibrillator as known in the art of the present disclosure. In practice, base defibrillator 40a can be a semi-automatic external defibrillator or a manual defibrillator whereby stage S62 is awaiting a manual activation from a user of the defibrillator. Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a stage S82 of flowchart 80 encompasses primary defibrillation controller 41 awaiting a shock advisory from a shock advisory algorithm as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, whereby, upon a determination of a shock advisory during stage S82, primary defibrillation controller 41 proceeds to a stage S84 of flowchart 80 to control a generation of trigger signal TS2 within the patient and transmitted to second defibrillator 50. In one exemplary embodiment, primary defibrillation controller 41 transmits a non-shocking trigger pulse P to the patient, whereby the patient will generate trigger signal TS2 between electrode pads and trigger relay 51 will be able to receive trigger signal TS2. Concurrently or with a predefined delay, base defibrillator controller 41 will commence a time period whereby, upon expiration of the time period during a stage S86 of flowchart 80, primary defibrillation controller 41 proceeds to a stage S88 of flowchart 80 to initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock (e.g., PS) to the patient. Still referring to FIG. 4A, a stage S92 of flowchart 90 encompasses trigger relay 51 awaiting trigger signal TS2 within the patient and transmitted to via the electrode pads. Upon receipt of trigger signal TS2, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage S94 of flowchart 90 to commence a time period, and upon expiration of the time period during a stage S96 of flowchart 90, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage S98 of flowchart 90 to initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock (e.g., SS) to the patient. In one exemplary embodiment of flowcharts 80 and 90, trigger signal TS2 will be an indication of a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator whereby the time period of stage 64 and the time period of stage S94 will coincide to thereby facilitate a double simultaneous defibrillation of the patient. For this embodiment, primary defibrillation controller 41 will delay commence of time period of stage S84 after transmission of the trigger signal to facilitate a commencement of the time periods of stages S84 and S94 at the same time. In a second exemplary embodiment of flowcharts 80 and 90, trigger signal TS2 will be an indication of a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator whereby the time period of stage 84 will expire prior to an expiration of the time period of stage S94 to thereby facilitate a double sequential defibrillation of the patient. For this embodiment, the time period for stage S84 can be zero (0) seconds or can be start and / or expire prior to the generation of trigger signal TS2. While FIG. 4B is shown having a hard wire connection between primary defibrillator 40b and relay defibrillator 50b, in practice, other forms of communication can be utilized, such as, for example, a wireless communication can be implemented between primary defibrillator 40b and relay defibrillator 50b (e.g., Bluetooth). Referring again to FIG. 4A, flowchart 80 was described in the context of base defibrillator 40a being an automatic external defibrillator as known in the art of the present disclosure. In practice, base defibrillator 40b can be a semi-automatic external defibrillator or a manual defibrillator whereby stage S82 is awaiting manual activation from a user of the defibrillator. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a stage SI02 of flowchart 100 encompasses primary defibrillation controller 41 awaiting a shock advisory from a shock advisory algorithm as known in the art of the present disclosure or hereinafter conceived, whereby, upon a determination of a shock advisory during stage SI02, primary defibrillation controller 41 proceeds to a stage SI04 of flowchart 100 to initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock (e.g., PS) to the patient. Upon application of the primary defibrillation shock, the patient will generate trigger signal TS2 between electrode pads and trigger relay 51 will be able to receive trigger signal TS2. Still referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a stage SI 12 of flowchart 110 encompasses trigger relay 51 awaiting trigger signal TS2 within the patient and transmitted to via the electrode pads. Upon receipt of trigger signal TS2, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage SI 14 of flowchart 110 to commence a time period, and upon expiration of the time period during a stage SI 16 of flowchart 110, trigger relay 51 proceeds to a stage SI 18 of flowchart 110 to initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock (e.g., SS) by to the patient. In this exemplary embodiment of flowcharts 100 and 110, trigger signal TS2 will be an indication of a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator to thereby facilitate a double sequential defibrillation of the patient. For this embodiment, stages SI 14 and SI 16 can be omitted as shown. Referring again to FIG. 5 A, flowchart 100 was described in the context of base defibrillator 40a being an automatic external defibrillator as known in the art of the present disclosure. In practice, base defibrillator 40c can be a semi-automatic external defibrillator or a manual defibrillator whereby stage SI 02 is awaiting a manual activation from a user of the defibrillator. From the description of FIGS. 2-5B herein, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the numerous benefits of the present disclosure including, but not limited to, an efficient and productive double defibrillation of a patient. The present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. Further, as one having ordinary skill in the art shall appreciate in view of the teachings provided herein, features, elements, components, etc. disclosed and described in the present disclosure / specification and / or depicted in the appended Figures and / or recited in the Claims can be implemented in various combinations of hardware and software, and provide functions which may be combined in a single element or multiple elements. For example, the functions of the various features, elements, components, etc. shown / illustrated / depicted in the Figures and / or recited in the Claims can be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions can be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which can be shared and / or multiplexed. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and can implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (“DSP”) hardware, memory (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”) for storing software, random access memory (“RAM”), non-volatile storage, etc.) and virtually any means and / or machine (including hardware, software, firmware, combinations thereof, etc.) which is capable of (and / or configurable) to perform and / or control a process. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (e.g., any elements developed that can perform the same or substantially similar functionality, regardless of structure). Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings provided herein that any block diagrams presented herein can represent conceptual views of illustrative system components and / or circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, one having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate in view of the teachings provided herein that any flow charts, flow diagrams and the like can represent various processes which can be substantially represented in computer readable storage media and so executed by a computer, processor or other device with processing capabilities, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown. Having described preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not limiting, it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons having ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings provided herein, including the appended Figures and claims. It is therefore to be understood that 5 changes can be made in / to the preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure which are within the scope of the present disclosure and exemplary embodiments disclosed, described and taught herein. Moreover, it is contemplated that corresponding and / or related systems incorporating and / or implementing the device or such as may be used / implemented in a device in accordance 10 with the present disclosure are also contemplated and considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, corresponding and / or related method for manufacturing and / or using a device and / or system in accordance with the present disclosure are also contemplated and considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A double defibrillation system, comprising:a base defibrillator (40) configured to conditionally initiate a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to a patient when the base defibrillator (40) is electrically coupled to the patient; anda relay defibrillator (50) configured to responsively initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient when the relay defibrillator (50) is electrically coupled to the patient and in response to a receipt of a trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from one of the base defibrillator (40) or at least one electrode coupled to the patient,wherein the trigger signal is indicative of one of a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40) or a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

2. The double defibrillation system of claim 1,wherein the base defibrillator (40) is further configured to generate and transmit the trigger signal to the relay defibrillator (50) as an indication of the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40); andwherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from the base defibrillator (40), the relay defibrillator (50) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

3. The double defibrillation system of claim 1,wherein the base defibrillator (40) is further configured to generate and deliver the trigger signal to patient as an indication of the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40); andwherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the relay defibrillator (50) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

4. The double defibrillation system of claim 1,wherein the base defibrillator (40) is further configured to generate and transmit the trigger signal to the relay defibrillator (50) as an indication of the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40); andwherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from the base defibrillator (40), the relay defibrillator (50) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient sequentially to the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

5. The double defibrillation system of claim 1,wherein the base defibrillator (40) is further configured to generate and deliver the trigger signal to the patient as an indication of the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40); andwherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the relay defibrillator (50) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient sequentially to the preceding delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

6. A relay defibrillator (50) for delivering a double defibrillation to a patient in cooperation with a base defibrillator (40), the relay defibrillator (50) comprising:a trigger relay (51) and a supplemental shock source (52),wherein the trigger relay (51) is configured to responsively initiate a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shock source (52) when the relay defibrillator (50) is electrically coupled to the patient and in response to a receipt by therelay defibrillator (50) a trigger signal indicative of one of a preset initiation of the delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40) or a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

7. The relay defibrillator (50) of claim 6,wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from the base defibrillator (40), the trigger relay (51) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shock source (52) simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

8. The relay defibrillator (50) of claim 6,wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the trigger relay (51) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shock source (52) simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

9. The relay defibrillator (50) of claim 6,wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from the base defibrillator (40), the trigger relay (51) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shock source (52) sequentially to the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

10. The relay defibrillator (50) of claim 6,wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the trigger relay (51) is further configured to initiate the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the supplemental shocksource (52) sequentially to the preceding delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

11. A double defibrillation method executable by a base defibrillator (40) and a relay defibrillator (50) both electrically coupled to a patient, the double defibrillation method comprising:conditionally initiating, by the base defibrillator (40), a delivery of a primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40); andresponsively initiating, by the relay defibrillator (50), a delivery of a supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient by the relay defibrillator (50) in response to a receipt of a trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) from one of the base defibrillator (40) or at least one electrode coupled to the patient,wherein the trigger signal is indicative of one of a preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40) or a preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

12. The double defibrillation method of claim 11, further comprising:transmitting, by the base defibrillator (40), the trigger signal to the relay defibrillator (50) as an indication of the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40),wherein in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) as transmitted from the base defibrillator (40), the relay defibrillator (50) initiates the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

13. The double defibrillation method of claim 11, further comprising:transmitting, by at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the trigger signal to patient as an indication of the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40),wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) as transmitted from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the relay defibrillator (50) initiates the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient simultaneously or sequentially to the preset initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

14. The double defibrillation method of claim 11, transmitting, by the base defibrillator (40), to generate and transmit the trigger signal to the relay defibrillator (50) as an indication of the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40), wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) as transmitted from the base defibrillator (40), the relay defibrillator (50) initiates the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient sequentially to the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

15. The double defibrillation method of claim 11, transmitting, by at least one electrode electrically coupled to the patient, the trigger signal to the patient as an indication of the preceding initiation of the delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40),wherein, in response to a receipt of the trigger signal by the relay defibrillator (50) as transmitted from at least one electrode coupled to the patient, the relay defibrillator (50) initiates the delivery of the supplemental defibrillation shock to the patient sequentially to the preceding delivery of the primary defibrillation shock to the patient by the base defibrillator (40).

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