NHS turns to drones to deliver defibrillators for cardiac emergencies

The National Health Services in the UK has planned to use drones to provide lifesaving defibrillators to people suffering from cardiac arrests due to reduced time of arrival than ambulances.

The study was carried out by the University of Warwick and funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In the study, researchers tested a drone delivery system to deliver defibrillators for cardiac emergencies in a remote rural community where ambulances face difficulties due to rugged terrain and roads.

The findings suggest that these drones could be “ very promising in real emergencies.”

According to Dr Christopher Smith, “AEDs [automated external defibrillators] can be used by members of the public before the ambulance gets there, but this rarely happens. We’ve built a drone system to deliver defibrillators to people having cardiac arrest, which could help save lives.”

“We have demonstrated that drones can safely fly long distances with a defibrillator attached and maintain real-time communications with emergency services during the 999 call,” he said.

“We are in a position where we could operationalise this system and use it for real emergencies across the UK soon,” Smith added.

In the UK, more than 30,000 people suffer from cardiac arrest outside of hospital every year. By using a drone to deliver a defibrillator, the chances of survival can be doubled.