Automated external defibrillator delivery by a drone in rural environ...

Background: 

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is associated with poor survival. Various factors can increase the survival rate:

• early and high-quality BLS measures

• early defibrillation performed by bystanders

• high-quality ALS measures

Especially in rural areas, the time to first defibrillation is particularly long due to logistical challenges. Here, drone-based AED delivery could have a positive impact on survival.

Methods:

‣ 10 Paramedis from the Austrian Red Cross in Klagenfurt were confronted with a OHCA-Scenario
‣ The scenario was conducted in a mountainous area without more detailed information for the
paramedics.
‣ A test call to the emergency response centre was made and from this the coordinates of the caller
were determined
‣ Based on the GPS coordinates, a semi-autonomous flying drone was dispatched.
‣ During the emergency call, participants were informed that a drone delivers a training-AED
‣ Various timepoints as well as (time to (tt): emergency call, tt start CPR, tt drone start, tt first shock,
hands-off times) CPR quality were subject of analysis.

Results:

The delivery and usage of an AED via a semi-autonomously flying drone in a remote region is feasible and safe. The drone delivery of an AED in mountainous regions can lead to early application of shocks.