Defibrillators

1. A defibrillator comprising:

electrodes configured to be attached to a patient, to acquire data indicative of the patient's heart rhythm and to deliver a defibrillating shock if appropriate;

a defibrillator control box connected to the electrodes;

on a portion of the defibrillator control box, a series of graphics configured to prompt a caregiver to perform a sequence of steps appropriate for treating a victim of suspected cardiac arrest,

electronics configured to acquire data from the electrodes, and electronics configured to illuminate at least some of the light sources in a sequence based at least in part on the data acquired from the electrodes.

2. The defibrillator of claim 1 wherein the defibrillator control box comprises electronics configured to provide audio prompts to the caregiver, wherein the audio prompts are associated with the series of graphics and are given sequentially to guide the caregiver through the sequence of steps, and wherein at least some of the audio prompts are timed to occur based on the data acquired from the electrodes.

3. The defibrillator of claim 2 further comprising electronics configured so that at least some of the audio prompts are timed to occur based on the time elapsed from the time at which a shock was last delivered to the patient.

4. A defibrillator comprising:

electrodes configured to be attached to a patient, to acquire data indicative of the patient's heart rhythm and to deliver a defibrillating shock if appropriate;

a defibrillator control box connected to the electrodes; and

on a portion of the defibrillator control box, a series of graphics configured to prompt a caregiver to perform a sequence of steps appropriate for treating a victim of suspected cardiac arrest,

further comprising buttons, associated with at least some of the graphics, and electronics which, when the buttons are pressed, provide audio prompts related to the associated graphic to be output by the defibrillator.

5. A system for prompting a caregiver in a resuscitation sequence for a patient who may be suffering from cardiac arrest, comprising

electrodes constructed to acquire data, indicative of the heart rhythm of the patient and indicative of whether the electrodes are properly placed on the patient,

a defibrillator control box capable of being activated and delivering a shock to the patient through the electrodes, the control box being connected to the electrodes, and being constructed to analyze data received from the electrodes and to measure the time elapsed since the defibrillator control box was activated by the caregiver or since the last shock was delivered to the patient; and

a user interface constructed to display information concerning the appropriate step of the resuscitation sequence to be performed by the caregiver at a particular time, based on the data received from the electrodes and the elapsed time.

6. The defibrillator of claim 1 , 4 , or 5

wherein the graphics include a picture that includes at least a portion of a user's hand depressing a treatment button to prompt the caregiver to press the treatment button to cause the defibrillator to administer a defibrillating shock.

7. The defibrillator of claim 6 wherein the picture includes a heart symbol indicating the location of the treatment button.

8. The defibrillator of claim 7 wherein the picture includes at least a portion of a hand and finger on or adjacent to the heart symbol indicating that the symbol is intended to be pressed.

9. The defibrillator of claim 1 , 4 , or 5

wherein the defibrillator further comprises a cover portion, and at least some of the graphics are provided on the cover portion of the defibrillator control box.

10. The defibrillator of claim 9

wherein at least some of the graphics are provided on the outside of the cover portion of the defibrillator.

11. The defibrillator of claim 10 wherein the graphics on the cover portion include a picture indicating that the cover should be removed from the defibrillator.

12. The defibrillator of claim 10 wherein the cover portion includes a space provided for local emergency information.

13. The defibrillator of claim 12 wherein the cover portion includes a window behind which a card bearing local emergency information can be placed.

14. The defibrillator of claim 1 , 4 , or 5 wherein at least some of the graphics comprise backlit, translucent images.

15. The defibrillator of claim 1 , 4 , or 5

wherein the graphics include one or more pictures indicating that the caregiver should place a passive airway support under the shoulders of the patient.