CHELMSFORD, Mass. — A new national effort aims to expand the database of publicly accessible AEDs, making it easier for 911 centers and bystanders to locate the devices during cardiac emergencies.
The project, called Anyone Can Register, will recruit volunteers, AED owners and manufacturers to add device locations to the National Emergency AED Registry (NEAR). The PulsePoint Foundation, a nonprofit that develops public safety apps and manages NEAR, and ZOLL, a manufacturer of AEDs and other medical devices, are coordinating the initiative.
The program will enlist volunteers, AED owners and manufacturers to grow NEAR so AED locations nationwide are easier to find and recommended during cardiac emergencies.
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Launching in February 2026 during American Heart Month, it’s part of ZOLL’s “Anything Can Happen. Anyone Can Help” campaign to turn CPR awareness into action by showing how AEDs guide bystanders through CPR and can improve cardiac arrest outcomes, according to a statement from ZOLL.
“In a cardiac emergency, when seconds count, it is crucial to quickly locate the nearest AED,” ZOLL Acute Care Technology President Elijah White said. “With PulsePoint, we’re working to make NEAR the nation’s first comprehensive registry, bringing all AEDs, no matter brand or owner, into a single validated system so these devices are always findable in emergencies.”
The free PulsePoint AED app lets users add AED locations to NEAR and connects the registry to 911 systems so call takers can direct callers to nearby devices. It can also alert nearby AED owners and trained volunteers when a defibrillator is urgently needed, helping them act in those critical first seconds.
Anyone Can Register will tap volunteers, AED makers, and device owners to help find and add local AEDs to NEAR using the PulsePoint AED app or AED.new — a simple, scalable process that lets anyone grow the registry in minutes.
