This rescue drone saved a dying man's life
To many, drones still seem like mildly annoying toys, but the truth is that they have the potential to be a lot more. This was proven by Everdrone, a Swedish company that develops drone-related tech with a strong focus on making autonomous drones useful within the emergency response and healthcare fields. In December 2021, an Everdrone device became the first drone ever to be partially responsible for saving a dying man's life.
The situation occurred in the Swedish city of Trollhättan on December 9, 2021. A 71-year old man suddenly collapsed due to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) while shoveling snow in his driveway. While the drone alone couldn't have saved the man's life, the procedures implemented by Everdrone in cooperation with the local healthcare system ensured that the tools needed to save him were right there when it was necessary.
The 71-year-old patient was found by a passerby who happened to be a medical doctor at a local hospital. Dr. Mustafa Ali immediately began performing CPR on the patient. Emergency services were called right away, but there is no telling if they would have arrived in time if not for the fact that they sent ahead an Everdrone device carrying an automated external defibrillator (AED.)
Mere minutes can make the difference between life and death in the event of a heart attack. That's why acting fast is crucial. Everdrone detailed the events in a blog post, where it has also talked about its mission and future plans.
Everdrone is planning to expand its coverage
When Dr. Mustafa Ali found the dying man, the patient had no pulse and required immediate resuscitation. Fortunately, before the ambulance ever arrived, Everdrone delivered an AED device to the patient's doorstep. This happened just three minutes after a bystander alerted the local emergency services — long before any ambulance could have made it to the location. Thanks to the swift response, the man is alive today and immensely grateful for the swift rescue that he owes, in part, to Everdrone technology.
Everdrone's Emergency Medical Aerial Delivery service (EMADE) currently operates medical drones in the Västra Götaland of Sweden. The technology used in these swift drone deliveries was developed in collaboration with the Center for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet, SOS Alarm, and Region Västra Götaland. The EMADE program is still in the testing phase, but it has already seen its degree of success. In its four-month test run, the service received 14 eligible heart attack alerts, to which it responded by sending a drone 12 times. Eleven of those drones delivered the defibrillator, and seven of them arrived before the emergency services.
Everdrone plans to continue the program and expand to reach a larger population. Right now, EMADE is accessible to up to 200,000 Swedish citizens. According to Everdrone, its next steps include expansion not just within Sweden but also in other European countries.