Drone delivers AED to patients with cardiac arrest --MOVE ON! │ ORIX Corporation

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The Karolinska Institute in Sweden has announced the results of a trial project to deliver an AED (automated external defibrillator) by drone to an emergency patient in cardiac arrest. The drone was dispatched once for every five emergency requests, and in most cases it was possible to reach the destination earlier than the ambulance. The results of this study were published in the academic journal "European Heart Journal" and presented at the European Society of Cardiology.

"This is the first time in the world that we have been able to report the results of a study that used a drone to deliver an AED to a location that was actually warned of suspected cardiac arrest," said the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Stockholm South General Hospital. Andreas Clarson, Associate Professor at the Center for Resuscitation Science and Senior Researcher at the Karolinska Institute, said.

In case of sudden cardiac arrest, 1 minute 1 second is the game. Currently, it is said that 1 in 10 people can be saved by cardiac arrest outside the hospital, but by performing rapid cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) such as giving an electric shock using an AED, the survival rate is 50. It can be improved up to ~ 70%. To that end, it is important to rush to the site as soon as possible. According to a 2019 report of Sweden's Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Emergency Medical Services, the median time from reporting a cardiac arrest to the arrival of an ambulance at the scene was 11 minutes.

Karolinska Institute has partnered with public emergency medical company SOS Alarm, local company Vastra Gotaland, and drone service company Everdrone AB to quickly deliver AEDs in parallel with ambulances for immediate response to OHCA patients. We have begun to consider the use of drones to do so. The study, conducted in the cities of Gothenburg and Kungelbu in western Sweden in the summer of 2020, introduced an integrated way of working together to ensure that rescuers, drone pilots and air traffic controllers work together and respond smoothly. ..

During the four-month investigation period, we dispatched drones to 12 of the 53 reports of suspected cardiac arrest, and succeeded in delivering the AED to the site in 11 (92%) of them. In seven of them (64%), the drone arrived before the ambulance, with a median time difference of 1 minute 52 seconds. The drone traveled a median distance of 3.1km, but there was no confusion or damage to the surrounding area. Since the test run of the drone was for the purpose of investigation, all treatments for patients are carried out after the ambulance arrives.

"There were no cases of using AEDs in practice, but it became clear that drones could carry AEDs safely and with the desired accuracy in real-life emergency life-saving situations," said the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Stockholm South General Hospital. Sophia Siavek, who is enrolled in the doctoral program at the Center for Resuscitation Science, said. "In order to help people with cardiac arrest in the future on the premise of practical application, it will be necessary for the person who sends the AED to take the initiative in giving instructions, and to establish a system in which the person in the field can quickly attach it to the patient."

Researchers believe that there are some areas that need to be reviewed to improve transport rates and time savings. For example, as of 2020, it was not possible to fly a drone at night, in the rain, or when the wind speed was 8 meters or more. In addition, because the software system was set to avoid the sky over densely populated areas, there were reports that it was geographically out of service.

“After the investigation was completed, we found some improvements,” says Andreas Clarson. "In April 2021, we started a new follow-up survey with an optimized system. Here, we increased the number of reports handled by drones and shortened the time to respond, so that the time compared to ambulances We tested if we could improve the benefits. Without early treatment, survival would drop by about 10% every minute. That's why we believe this new transport method can save lives. I am. "

Research Report: "Automated External Defibrillators delivered by drones to patients with suspected Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest"