Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health has started delivering automated external defibrillators by drone during real 911 calls as part of a clinical study.
When Clemmons, N.C., gets a call for cardiac arrest, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office immediately dispatches a drone with an AED and lowers it to the bystander while first responders are en route. The 911 dispatcher instructs the person on how to use the device.
“This study represents a major step forward in how we respond to cardiac arrest in the United States,” said Monique Starks, MD, principal investigator and associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine, in a Nov. 19 news release. “By integrating drone technology into emergency care, we’re working to close the critical gap between cardiac arrest and treatment, and that has the potential to save thousands of lives.”
If an AED is used within 2-3 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates increase to 70%, according to the release. EMS typically takes 8-10 minutes to arrive. Less than a tenth of the 350,000 people who suffer cardiac arrest each year in the U.S. survive.
