Cardiac stimulation with electronic control device application.

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Forensic Science
• Medical Device Safety

Background:

• Electronic control devices (ECDs) are used to incapacitate subjects.
• Sudden deaths have occurred post-ECD application, with uncertain causes due to inconsistent cardiac dysrhythmia observations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors contributing to cardiac stimulation during ECD use.
• To detect cardiac stimulation using transesophageal echocardiography.

Main Methods:

• Anesthetized Yorkshire pigs were instrumented for echocardiography.
• Five commercial ECD devices were applied to the chest and abdomen of pigs.
• Cardiac function and heart rate were monitored during ECD application.

Main Results:

• Cardiac stimulation did not occur with abdominal dart placement.
• Chest dart application of most ECDs caused cardiac stimulation in small pigs, except for the Taser X3.
• Large pigs showed cardiac stimulation only with chest application of the S200 AT device.

Conclusions:

• Cardiac stimulation during ECD use is influenced by pig size, dart orientation, and the specific device.
• The Taser X3 demonstrated no cardiac stimulation in either small or large pigs.