Virgin Atlantic is upgrading its onboard safety equipment as part of a new partnership with CardioSecur, a medical tech provider from Germany.
All flights will be equipped with the world’s smallest and lightest mobile ECG kit by CardioSecur, with the aim to save lives and reduce medical diversions.
Virgin Atlantic remains the only UK airline to have ECG capability in the air. In the early 2000s it was the first airline in the world to have an entirely ECG equipped fleet.
CardioSecur will provide its expertise through an app-based solution to address serious inflight medical issues. The compact system will allow Virgin Atlantic’s cabin crew to record 12-lead ECGs and send the results via WIFI and satellite to a ground-based medical service, who will provide critical feedback, detailing next medical steps, including whether a diversion is necessary or not.
Cardiovascular events are the single most common cause of medical flight diversions, making this advanced system a critical addition to Virgin Atlantic’s inflight safety measures. Weighing only 50 grams, the mobile ECG system requires minimal space. The speed in application and ease of use is facilitated by the vectorcardiography based system which performs a comprehensive 12-lead ECG with only four pickup points on the body.
Corneel Koster, Chief Customer and Operations Officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Our work with CardioSecur underpins our continued commitment to customer health, which will always be our top priority. We were proud to be the first airline in the world to have a fully ECG equipped fleet and we’ve continued to remain at the forefront of aviation medicine.
“The upgrade to this new state of the art mobile ECG capability on board of all our aircraft clearly demonstrates further leadership in shaping the future of customer health and I’m proud to be the first UK airline to offer CardioSecur’s new kit.”
Felix Brand, CEO and founder of CardioSecur, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Virgin Atlantic, a visionary airline that shares our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance passenger and crew safety. Our partnership will empower airlines to provide swift and accurate support in medical emergencies and make a significant impact on in-flight healthcare.”
