In November 2011, the Telefunken Defibrillator was first presented as a demonstration model in the Netherlands. This AED, which would initially be called HeartReset, was presented on that day as the Telefunken HeartReset AED. During the official introduction in 2012, the name HeartReset disappeared and the Telefunken Defibrillator or Telefunken AED became the official name.
The Telefunken Defibrillator was the first true Dutch AED. Although the Dutch brand Philips is a major player in the AED market, these AEDs are produced elsewhere. The Telefunken was actually assembled in Eindhoven, and could therefore be called a truly Dutch AED.
The first Telefunken Defibrillators appeared on the market on 13 July 2012. The Telefunken has been a popular AED since its introduction. Not only because of the the low price, but also because of its specifications. The Telefunken Defibrillator first appeared on the market as a semi-automatic, model HR1. A fully automatic version was also introduced later in 2012, model FA1.
Unfortunately, the Telefunken Defibrillator did not last long. After a period of technical issues and payment problems, the bankruptcy of the manufacturer, Defiteq International from Eindhoven, was declared on 24 December 2013. Even after the bankruptcy there still appeared to be technical problems concerning the Telefunken AED.
Strangely enough, here and there in 2019, Telefunken Defibrillators are still appearing in the European market. It is unknown to us whether these are recent models or special “refurbished” models. Update April 4, 2019: In Ireland, the Health Products Regulatory Authority HPRA issued a Class 2 warning for the Telefunken AED, which shows that the CE certificate had already been put on hold in July 2016 and was revoked in April 2017. They recommend that you no longer use the Telefunken AED and Telefunken accessories: see this link.