Medical Drone Deliveries

REMSA (the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority) provides ambulances and emergency health services in the state of Nevada, while Flirtey is known for its UAV-powered delivery of pizzas and other items in the USA, New Zealand, and Australia. The two companies are teaming up to provide deliveries of defibrillators whenever a 911 call is made reporting symptoms of cardiac arrest.

Every second is important in cases of cardiac arrest. It is the leading cause of natural death in America, with the American Heart Association reporting that 350,000 lives are lost each year to it. For every minute that a victim of cardiac arrest waits to receive defibrillation, their odds of survival decrease by about 10 percent. Delivery of defibrillators by drones can rapidly increase the reaction and treatment time of patients, and increase the odds of surviving cardiac arrest.

Portable defibrillators weigh about 5 pounds, and most importantly can be used by anyone and require no medical training. The drone will lower the AED on a line, allowing a bystander to unbox it and apply the pads to a patient’s chest. Those pads contain sensors that read what's happening with a patient's heart, and then the system will determine whether the patient needs an electrical shock, either prompting the user to press a button to initiate it or it can even deliver the shock itself automatically.

References:   Flirtey    REMSA Health    sUAS News    CNBC