Drone Delivery Of Defibrillators Starts In Nevada, Will Arrive Before Ambulances

The importance of every second while a person is having a cardiac arrest can't be stressed enough, and the availability of the requisite medical equipment in the fastest possible time could end up saving many lives.

With this objective in mind, Flirtey, a Nevada-based drone-delivery company, has launched specialized drones for defibrillator delivery as part of every response to a cardiac arrest emergency.

“We have the ability to deliver lifesaving aid into the hands of people who need it — why aren't we as a society doing it already? This is one of the most important uses of drone delivery technology, and we believe that by democratizing access to this lifesaving aid, our technology will save more than a million lives over the decades to come,” Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny told the Reno Gazette-Journal last week.

Flirtey will work in collaboration with the Regional Emergency Medical services Authority (REMSA) to provide drone-delivered medical help until trained medical technicians arrive.

It will send across an automated external defibrillator via a drone ahead of an ambulance despatch for emergency cases that involve a cardiac arrest.

The rapid drone deployment program uses a specialized flight-planning navigation software to provide the drone with precise location.

“Cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical activity of the heart stops. Someone in cardiac arrest will be unresponsive with no pulse, no breathing, no movement at all. They are technically clinically dead,” REMSA CEO J.W. Hodge told the Reno Gazette Journal.

When a cardiac arrest happens, administration of aid is vital for survival — every single second counts. A drone will not face the same hurdles as ambulances on the ground such as traffic, and could provide the much-need help in such situations.

Anyone on the scene might be able to use the defibrillator to send electric shocks to a patient’s heart to restore normal heart rhythm. According to Slashgear, the system is designed in such a way that even a person with zero medical experience would be able to use it.

While different drone-based applications are being worked upon by many companies, drone-based delivery is one of the most substantial use of the technology.

Companies such as Amazon, Walmart and UPI are working on their own drone-delivery solutions. But, drones can also play a large role in life-saving operations.

Automotive company Land Rover is working on similar applications of drones in collaboration with the Austrian Red Cross.

The company has created a special SUV, which is fitted with a roof-mounted drone that is capable of taking off, even while the vehicle is moving.

It is specially designed for search and rescue operations and collaborates with the car’s dashboard. It is fitted with a camera which transmits feed to the car’s system and provides an aerial view in difficult terrains and can provide rescuers exact location of a stranded person and his/her condition.