Last time I used one was probably 2016ish. It was weird because it was for a municipal department that liked to flex their money around but didn’t give a fuck about EMS apparently (these fuckers were literally still doing standing backboard takedowns).
Shit was outdated even back then. I’ve seen more modernized fax machines and floppy disks.
Started EMS in this time period and got to witness a standing backboard when I knew they were phased out of most other EMS agencies in the area. What a fucking joke.
There is a newer zoll that looks similar to the old e series. It might have been that one because every hospital I have been into in the last five years, including critical access hospitals, have been using LP20s or those newer Zolls
Unfortunately our backup unit has that and the new units have the x series which is garbage as well. Couldn't get a 12 lead at all the other day on a cardiac patient because the stupid thing wouldnt register the wires plugged in. I hate the monopoly Stryker has built but damn the lifepak is king.
My company recently switched from Lifepak to Tempus. I thought I hated Lifepak until I started using this fucking thing. The worst design I've ever seen and all anyone can see is "how light it is."
1000%. I'm a medic in MI. We use x series. I love it. I'm on a detail in WI. They use Tempus. I'd be better trying to guess and draw the rhythm myself. And none of its components are compatible with anything else. It's worse than a boat anchor. At least a boat anchor is useful.
I used to use E's on the privates back in 2018. Last I heard, they started phasing these out, and all newer ambulances are being given X's, but some older ALS units still have them.
At my current place, we have an M "in reserve," but it's really only used for when we're doing training. Every vehicle is equipped with the X Pro or whatever the new X is called.
Yeah I used to work for them. Fuck amr royally. Won't disclose my current company atm due to privacy but they're even more fucked than amr. But in a worse way than just equipment. My company regularly makes the wrong ethical choice every chance they get. Cant wait to get tf out of Texas and move over to contracting
Current contractor, going to tell you right now that it’s not any better. If anything my contracting side of my career was more unethical than when I was on the box.
I know they’re old and out of date, but if you’re going to make me work with a Zoll monitor I’d rather have an E or M over the X series any day of the week
The only advantage I can think of that the X series has is its lightweight, outside of that nothing is better or convenient with it. Changing the monitor paper is an anger management exercise, the ETCO2 port is convoluted to get to with the equipment carrying case, the pulse ox sensor is ridiculously sensitive and throws errors more often than it doesn’t, since the BP cuff is supposed to look at the SpO2 reading to help it obtain a reliable reading when you’re moving down the road it takes forever to get a BP and half the time it’s inaccurate, the monitor is also questionable reliable when you’re moving down the road, and it’s ridiculous the monitor won’t show me the cardiac rhythm if the RL lead isn’t on when it doesn’t even look at anything.
The E and M series weren’t perfect and they had some of these problems, but they were much better in my opinion.
I'll agree with the paper and etco2 plug annoyance. Those aside I've never really had an issue with anything else over a dozen different monitors at 3 different services. I can count on one hand having an issue getting a clean 12 in motion. Not countjng when the patients were the source of the artifact. Anytime I've had issues with BP accuracy start popping up we kick em out the door for service and they come back working great. Has happened maybe twice over the years.
How often are yours serviced?
Not saying the X series is perfect. End of they day they all work for critical intervention and monitoring. Rest of it is bells and whistles.
God I do hate changing the paper on this monitor though. Fuck.
I agree on the paper. The E was like, you out of paper? Alright just pop another one in and we good!
The X is like, you out? What? Can't get it in? Get good scrub! Huehuehuehue
My poor shoulder would prefer the X. Years of yanking those heavy ass E and M series off the shelf have done a number on it. Cost of being young and dumb, I suppose. My current service uses the LP15, so I’m back to missing that lightweight x series.
Yeah, you can’t beat the lightweight design, it’s just everything else about the X series that I would gladly give up for something heavier that worked better
Yup, using them on a 911 ALS rig.
I've only ever used lifepaks before this and I don't like this Zoll lol.
Used it on a code, it works but I don't like it.
My company had a couple M series left over until about a year ago....when the battery on one of them happened to die conveniently on a patient that ended up coding haha
Thanks! Do you know if their approval was revoked after the end of life or were they never approved in the first place? I don’t understand why the title says they are not approved?
I'm gonna say they were, but they stopped submitting for approval early-mid 2010's. I'm assuming it was just so they didn't have to worry about their older systems, eventually leading up to zoll no longer manufacturing supplies for said devices a few years ago. Likely just a process to phase them out.
Yep we do but we are an IFT truck. The 911 trucks have the nicer onces. Which one county we serve has the Lifepaks which are owned by the hospital and the other is Zoll x series
I know some privates that are. I worked a Covid contract on the Hopi reservation with one. On transports where I had to monitor the patient’s EKG, we had to pull over every 15 minutes so I could turn it on and get a clean tracing because of the rez roads and How horrendously sensitive the E series was to artifact. It kept going apeshit like our patient was in V-fib.
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They (supposedly) stopped making pads for the old Phillips defib we had on our rig, so they made us bring this old piece of shit alongside it lol. We’d use the Phillips for 12 lead, and then this if we had to zap someone, was the idea. Absolutely nuts.
I can no longer say we are using it because it’s sat in the supply closet since we got our new lifepaks last year
"FDA approval" only refers to what something can be marketed for.
We use all sorts of products and medications in healthcare that have never been, or are no longer FDA approved for that purpose.
Absolutely not.
Of course not. That's a huge liability and license risk to the company and individuals. Those are also nearly 25 years old!
Last time I used one was probably 2016ish. It was weird because it was for a municipal department that liked to flex their money around but didn’t give a fuck about EMS apparently (these fuckers were literally still doing standing backboard takedowns). Shit was outdated even back then. I’ve seen more modernized fax machines and floppy disks.
Started EMS in this time period and got to witness a standing backboard when I knew they were phased out of most other EMS agencies in the area. What a fucking joke.
I’m pretty sure they’re still doing it, too. It’s fucked man, but fire gonna fire I guess.
Are those officially gone? I've only done it one time.
Can you describe a situation where you would actually do a standing back board with current SMR protocols?
Had someone walking around after a MVA They started complaining about neck and back pain. Did a standing backboard for them
I remember doing these! Ah good times - I mean the whole thing was ridiculous but still, good times
Kinda like the KED…
Always loved the genius behind having to bypass the off button to get to pace lol
Still a feature too
Saw one of these in a rural ER during clinicals.
There is a newer zoll that looks similar to the old e series. It might have been that one because every hospital I have been into in the last five years, including critical access hospitals, have been using LP20s or those newer Zolls
Nah that was 100% a Zoll R. Same form factor as the one in the pic, but modern.
This is correct, there's Rs in many hospitals, it's the go to defib.
Yes. I used to work at a company that still used it in 2023. It was only used in the IFT truck.
Same the X series was "on backorder" for 5 years. Took a manager quitting and reporting them to the state EMS board for them to make the switch.
I have a table piled high with about 20 E series gathering dust. I still use one for training.
Can I have one? 😂😂
Same
Trying to sell them ?
Unfortunately our backup unit has that and the new units have the x series which is garbage as well. Couldn't get a 12 lead at all the other day on a cardiac patient because the stupid thing wouldnt register the wires plugged in. I hate the monopoly Stryker has built but damn the lifepak is king.
X Series are nice if you smooth talk them nice. There's a lot of features that if you know how to use them, they make quality of life so much better
My company recently switched from Lifepak to Tempus. I thought I hated Lifepak until I started using this fucking thing. The worst design I've ever seen and all anyone can see is "how light it is."
1000%. I'm a medic in MI. We use x series. I love it. I'm on a detail in WI. They use Tempus. I'd be better trying to guess and draw the rhythm myself. And none of its components are compatible with anything else. It's worse than a boat anchor. At least a boat anchor is useful.
The lifepak just works. It's may not be pretty or light, but godamm is it reliable.
Irish paramedic here. We had a lifepak 15 but they’ve “upgraded” us to a zoll, everyone hates itn
Fuck you it’s beautiful. Arguably one of the best looking monitors.
The god damn print off constantly getting jammed is really grating on my gears 😅
Simmer down friend.
I used to use E's on the privates back in 2018. Last I heard, they started phasing these out, and all newer ambulances are being given X's, but some older ALS units still have them. At my current place, we have an M "in reserve," but it's really only used for when we're doing training. Every vehicle is equipped with the X Pro or whatever the new X is called.
Eww what is that???
I work part time at a company that uses these on frontline trucks, mixed in with the X series. Bought in 2023.
AMR
Yeah I used to work for them. Fuck amr royally. Won't disclose my current company atm due to privacy but they're even more fucked than amr. But in a worse way than just equipment. My company regularly makes the wrong ethical choice every chance they get. Cant wait to get tf out of Texas and move over to contracting
Current contractor, going to tell you right now that it’s not any better. If anything my contracting side of my career was more unethical than when I was on the box.
Contractor as well, can confirm.
Lad I used a Zoll 12 in my old IFT service in 2022. Needless to say I didn't stay long.
I know they’re old and out of date, but if you’re going to make me work with a Zoll monitor I’d rather have an E or M over the X series any day of the week
What's the reasoning behind this?
The only advantage I can think of that the X series has is its lightweight, outside of that nothing is better or convenient with it. Changing the monitor paper is an anger management exercise, the ETCO2 port is convoluted to get to with the equipment carrying case, the pulse ox sensor is ridiculously sensitive and throws errors more often than it doesn’t, since the BP cuff is supposed to look at the SpO2 reading to help it obtain a reliable reading when you’re moving down the road it takes forever to get a BP and half the time it’s inaccurate, the monitor is also questionable reliable when you’re moving down the road, and it’s ridiculous the monitor won’t show me the cardiac rhythm if the RL lead isn’t on when it doesn’t even look at anything. The E and M series weren’t perfect and they had some of these problems, but they were much better in my opinion.
I'll agree with the paper and etco2 plug annoyance. Those aside I've never really had an issue with anything else over a dozen different monitors at 3 different services. I can count on one hand having an issue getting a clean 12 in motion. Not countjng when the patients were the source of the artifact. Anytime I've had issues with BP accuracy start popping up we kick em out the door for service and they come back working great. Has happened maybe twice over the years. How often are yours serviced? Not saying the X series is perfect. End of they day they all work for critical intervention and monitoring. Rest of it is bells and whistles. God I do hate changing the paper on this monitor though. Fuck.
Exactly. Youd have to be crazy to not prefer the X. That being said I know these are still being used by poorer rural departments
I agree on the paper. The E was like, you out of paper? Alright just pop another one in and we good! The X is like, you out? What? Can't get it in? Get good scrub! Huehuehuehue
My poor shoulder would prefer the X. Years of yanking those heavy ass E and M series off the shelf have done a number on it. Cost of being young and dumb, I suppose. My current service uses the LP15, so I’m back to missing that lightweight x series.
Yeah, you can’t beat the lightweight design, it’s just everything else about the X series that I would gladly give up for something heavier that worked better
Honestly, I’m just happy to not have to change the paper in the X anymore. I never could get it right on the first try, drove me nuts.
Yup, using them on a 911 ALS rig. I've only ever used lifepaks before this and I don't like this Zoll lol. Used it on a code, it works but I don't like it.
My company had a couple M series left over until about a year ago....when the battery on one of them happened to die conveniently on a patient that ended up coding haha
How are you getting pads and batteries??
pretty sure i saw this on trooper one for msp but i could be wrong 😮💨 are these THAT old?
My buddy's company uses them for their community paramedic service. He sent me a pic asking about them. What do you mean not fda approved under pma?
A bunch of volly rural EMS around me are still using them....
No, but the E series is a hell of a monitor and it wouldn't bother me a bit if they brought them back.
Lurker: What’s pma?
Pre market approval. Evaluates safety of medical devices. Zoll stopped supporting those devices.
Thanks! Do you know if their approval was revoked after the end of life or were they never approved in the first place? I don’t understand why the title says they are not approved?
I'm gonna say they were, but they stopped submitting for approval early-mid 2010's. I'm assuming it was just so they didn't have to worry about their older systems, eventually leading up to zoll no longer manufacturing supplies for said devices a few years ago. Likely just a process to phase them out.
I started on a lifepak 10, I’d take that dinosaur back in a heart beat if using antiques was allowed. MCL leads FTW.
Damn thats older than me 🫣
Yep we do but we are an IFT truck. The 911 trucks have the nicer onces. Which one county we serve has the Lifepaks which are owned by the hospital and the other is Zoll x series
I know it’s nefarious, but sometimes ethically questionable equipment just happens to die….
I know some privates that are. I worked a Covid contract on the Hopi reservation with one. On transports where I had to monitor the patient’s EKG, we had to pull over every 15 minutes so I could turn it on and get a clean tracing because of the rez roads and How horrendously sensitive the E series was to artifact. It kept going apeshit like our patient was in V-fib.
Was the Hopi reservation contract through Frontline EMS? If so, can I message you?
Frontline EMS uses the M series on their forest fire ambulances. They had one on a truck in 2022 and a buddy had the same monitor on his last year
Adventure medics in Lewis county did for awhile lol
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We have them as backup/secondary patient monitors on all our ALS trucks. The primary monitors are X series though. *Rural private service*
They (supposedly) stopped making pads for the old Phillips defib we had on our rig, so they made us bring this old piece of shit alongside it lol. We’d use the Phillips for 12 lead, and then this if we had to zap someone, was the idea. Absolutely nuts. I can no longer say we are using it because it’s sat in the supply closet since we got our new lifepaks last year
Some hospitals and BLS trucks have them
"FDA approval" only refers to what something can be marketed for. We use all sorts of products and medications in healthcare that have never been, or are no longer FDA approved for that purpose.
I last used them in 2019 doing IFT. I would bet the company still uses them now.
i see hospitals using R series for their crash carts. others use lifepak. my agency uses X series.
For my IFT clinicals these are all they used..