Semi-autonomous drone delivery of a defibrillator in mountainous regi...

Delivering an automated external defibrillator (AED) to a patient that suffers from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is extremely challenging in mountainous terrain due to long response times for rescuers. Drones are regarded to be a flexible and fast alternative to reduce the time span between SCA and first electric AED shocks. This study presents insights from field tests that focused on semi-autonomous drone-based delivery of an AED to emergency sites in mountainous terrain. The generated results underline the operational and technical feasibility of the proposed system, leading to early application of shocks, potentially increasing the patients’ chance of survival.