CHELMSFORD, Mass. & TOKYO — Asahi Kasei said its subsidiary ZOLL Medical has launched the next-generation LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator in the United States and completed the nationwide rollout of what it describes as the most comfortable LifeVest garment to date, reinforcing ZOLL’s leadership position in the wearable defibrillator category.
LifeVest is the most widely used and studied wearable defibrillator, with clinical data covering more than 140,000 patients and more than one million lives protected, according to the company. The latest U.S. launch reflects ZOLL’s continued focus on innovation in critical care technologies as Asahi Kasei positions healthcare as a priority growth sector.
Asahi Kasei has designated critical care as a core business and is targeting operating income of ¥55.0 billion in fiscal 2027. The company said the new LifeVest advancements are expected to support sustained growth in the expanding wearable cardioverter defibrillator market.
“With its advanced technology, unmatched safety data, and now an even more comfortable garment, LifeVest set the standard for WCDs for patients at temporarily elevated risk of sudden cardiac death,” said Ken Shinomiya, leader of the healthcare sector at Asahi Kasei. “The success of the LifeVest WCD positions ZOLL and Asahi Kasei for even more clinical adoption, continued market expansion, durable revenue growth, and strong profitability in the years ahead.”
ZOLL said it continues to lead the wearable cardioverter defibrillator category based on more than two decades of engineering expertise, patient feedback, and clinical evidence. The company cited growing clinical data supporting the need for sudden cardiac death protection in newly diagnosed heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, as well as results from the recent SCD-PROTECT study that further reinforced the effectiveness of the LifeVest WCD.
The newly launched LifeVest garment is designed to improve patient comfort and usability in everyday life outside the hospital. Features include lightweight, athleisure-inspired performance fabric, soft plush straps, flat-lock stitching, and the broadest range of garment sizes to date, accommodating chest measurements from 26 inches to 56 inches.
ZOLL also highlighted its early adoption of artificial intelligence in wearable defibrillators. The company introduced an AI-enhanced algorithm in 2018 that significantly reduced false alarms, and the latest generation LifeVest continues to incorporate this technology to support reliable patient protection.
