Defibrillator with fail-safe discharge circuitry

A defibrillator with safety-monitoring circuitry, comprising:

• a pulse generation circuit, comprising:
• a therapeutic defibrillation waveform generator configured to generate one or more therapeutic defibrillation waveforms for delivery to a patient via a pair of electrode pads;
• a charging circuit configured to charge the therapeutic defibrillation waveform generator via a defibrillation capacitor;
• the defibrillation capacitor configured to store energy for charging the therapeutic defibrillation waveform generator;
• and
• a bleeder resistor positioned across the defibrillation capacitor configured for fail-safe discharge of the defibrillation capacitor;
• a voltage monitor configured to monitor for current leakage from the pulse generation circuit;
• and
• a microcontroller control element configured to control the therapeutic defibrillation waveform generation by the therapeutic defibrillation waveform generator and to take an action upon a detection of the current leakage that exceeds a threshold.