Hitachi Solutions and the British Heart Foundation to collaborate on lifesaving defibrillator network

Hitachi Solutions’ partnership with the British Heart Foundation

Hitachi Solutions has partnered with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to technologically enhance and improve The Circuit, BHF’s pioneering UK defibrillator network. The project will improve The Circuit users’ experience by providing a custom-developed application to aid emergency service operators in guiding users to the nearest available defibrillator.

The Circuit, the national defibrillator network is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance and NHS England. The Circuit provides a nationwide overview of the locations and availability of registered defibrillators. This allows emergency services to direct bystanders to the nearest available defibrillator to treat an out-of-hospital-cardiac arrest (OHCA). With over 30,000 cardiac arrests per year in the UK and a survival rate of less than one in ten, the development of the network is vital in helping people access defibrillators quickly to save lives.

The Circuit is one of the most sophisticated defibrillator databases in Europe. It provides data on defibrillators to emergency service call handlers, with both location and status being shared every 60 seconds with the ambulance services. The defibrillators are checked and maintained by members of the public, and employees of businesses, known as Guardians to make sure they are “emergency ready”.

Hitachi Solutions will provide a managed service which ensures the network’s availability, as well as working to improve user experience for callers, the ambulance services and Guardians by further developing The Circuit’s application. Hitachi Solutions aims to support the BHF and the funders of The Circuit in ensuring that the data on defibrillators is captured accurately and regularly cleansed by the Guardians. This will include user-led design techniques to ensure that the user journey is simple and intuitive.

The project will see multiple tools from the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem utilised to create a hybrid solution architecture. Primarily, the use of Microsoft Azure to aid in development of the custom The Circuit application, and to host the database of defibrillators.

Simon Drake, Executive Vice President and UK General Manager at Hitachi Solutions Europe said, “We are proud to have been chosen as the Strategic Partner by the British Heart Foundation and The Circuit partners, to enhance The Circuit, improving its accuracy in order to help save many lives in years to come. It’s projects like this which truly demonstrate how technology can be used as a force for good and we’re privileged to be supporting the British Heart Foundation and The Circuit partners in their mission.”

Judy O’Sullivan, Director of Health Innovation Programmes at the British Heart Foundation added, “It is great to partner with Hitachi Solutions and see Microsoft’s innovative technology being used to help enhance The Circuit. We, and our partners Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance and the NHS ambulance services are looking forward to working with Hitachi Solutions to improve user experience for callers, emergency service call handlers and Guardians. This will help to save lives up and down the UK from the ultimate medical emergency.”

To find out more about how Hitachi Solutions’ digital solutions are helping transform businesses visit: https://www.hitachi-solutions.co.uk/

To register a defibrillator with The Circuit visit: https://www.thecircuit.uk/ 

About Hitachi Solutions Europe

Hitachi Solutions Europe, Ltd. helps its customers successfully compete with the largest global enterprises using powerful, easy-to-use, and affordable industry solutions built on the Microsoft Cloud. Hitachi Solutions Europe provides global capabilities with regional offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, India/Middle East, Japan, and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit: https://www.hitachi-solutions.co.uk

About Hitachi Solutions, Ltd.

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a core member of the Information & Telecommunication Systems business of Hitachi Group and a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to companies across many industries. The company provides value-driven services throughout the IT life cycle from systems planning to systems integration, operation, and maintenance. Hitachi Solutions delivers products and services of superior value to customers worldwide through key subsidiaries in North America, Europe, India/Middle East, and Asia Pacific. For more information on Hitachi Solutions, please visit: https://www.hitachi-solutions.com.

About British Heart Foundation

It is only with donations from the public that the BHF can keep its life saving research going. Help us turn science fiction into reality. With donations from the public, the BHF funds ground-breaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases. A world where broken hearts are mended, where millions more people survive a heart attack, where the number of people dying from or disabled by a stroke is slashed in half. A world where people affected by heart and circulatory diseases get the support they need. And a world of cures and treatments we can’t even imagine today. Find out more at bhf.org.uk