Survival is critically dependent on minimizing the delay before providing a counter shock. However, the use of a manual defibrillator requires substantial training, particularly in the skills of interpreting electrocardiograms. This greatly restricts the availability of immediate electrical treatment during emergencies.

This is the reason why conventional emergency medical systems typically cannot respond fast enough to provide defibrillation within the accepted time frame or eight minutes or less. This problem led to studies how to automate defibrillation so the technology can be used by more people. When the automated external defibrillator was finally invented, it swiftly became considered to be one of the most important developments in medical equipment in recent years.