Kotaro Imai

AED Location in Public Spaces: A Case Study in Ueno Park Using Voronoi Diagrams with Obstacles

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze the domain of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) around Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, using the Voronoi diagrams with obstacles, in order to improve the survival rate of victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). The results indicate a more efficient AED location by including the necessary time for the rescuer and the helper, both of whom happened to be near the SCA victim, to reach an AED by avoiding various obstacles in the park: pond, building, planting, and fence. After indicating the current location of AEDs, the authors propose a new location plan with additional AEDs placed in public facilities where there are none, and improving the average shortest-path distance from 343m to 119m, which is equivalent to an almost 18% improvement in the survival rate.