Study: Drones are faster than ambulances at delivering life-saving equipment to patients
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A new study finds drones deliver life-saving equipment to patients with suspected cardiac arrests faster than ambulances.
Researchers in Sweden have been testing the theory since 2020 and found drones equipped with automated external defibrillators were on site about three minutes before ambulances and could be used day or night throughout the year.
"Our study now shows once and for all that it is possible to deliver AED with drones and that this can be done several minutes before the arrival of the ambulance in connection with acute cardiac arrest," says Andreas Claesson. "This time saving meant that the healthcare emergency center could instruct the person who called the ambulance to retrieve and use the AED in several cases before the ambulance arrived."
