(SWEDEN)
New research indicates drones could potentially play a life saving role in responding quickly to people who suffer cardiac arrests.
A team from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, wanted to compare how drones would fair against emergency services in dispatching automated external defibrillators (AED). AED’s would be sent to the location given by the person making the emergency call – the bystander who would likely have to use it.
The team, led by Dr Andreas Claesson, found that drones were 16 minutes quicker in getting to the “simulated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests”.
“Saving 16 minutes is likely to be clinically important. Nonetheless, further test flights, technological development, and evaluation of integration with dispatch centers and aviation administrators are needed,” the study said.
Drones are increasingly being used in emergency situations as they can often act faster than humans. Earlier this year Chinese drone making giant DJI released a report claiming civilian drones have saved the lives of at least 59 people worldwide since 2013.
