A defibrillator-carrying drone has been used as part of life-saving cardiac arrest response in Sweden, potentially saving a man’s life.
The automated external defibrillator (AED) was delivered to the location from a recently opened drone base in Borås, located in the country’s Västra Götaland Region (VGR). Its dispatch forms part of VGR’s emergency drone programme, under which drones are automatically dispatched alongside ambulances to suspected cardiac arrests.
On 19 July, the drone flew autonomously from the Borås base to the scene in less than three minutes, where the AED was lowered via a winch from an altitude of approximately 30 metres. While one bystander was delivering CPR to the patient, a man in his 60s, someone else removed the AED from the winch and followed real-time instructions from an emergency dispatcher via video call.
The AED analysed the patient's heart rhythm, and a defibrillation shock was delivered. When the ambulance arrived shortly after, medical response was provided...