What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Other. Population: Suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) (n=14). Intervention: Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) delivered by drones vs. Emergency medical services (ambulance). Primary outcome: Proportion of successful AED deliveries when drones were dispatched in cases of suspected OHCA.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aimed to assess the feasibility of delivering automated external defibrillators via drones in real-world cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

April 21, 2026

Automated external defibrillators delivered by drones to patients with suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Key Result

AED delivery by drones to real-life cases of suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was feasible, achieving a 92% successful delivery rate and arriving before ambulances in 64% of cases.

Key Points

The study aimed to assess the feasibility of delivering automated external defibrillators via drones in real-world cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Prospective clinical trial conducted in Sweden with three AED-equipped drones over a population of 80,000.
Drones integrated into emergency services for beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights.
Result data from 12 alerts for suspected OHCA cases were analyzed.
AED delivery was successfully accomplished in 92% of alerts in cases of suspected OHCA.
Drones arrived before ambulances in 64% of cases with a median time benefit of 1 minute and 52 seconds.
In 61 test flights, the AED delivery success rate was found to be 90% (55 out of 61).

Structured PICO

Does AED delivery by drones improve time to defibrillator availability in patients with suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?

Population

14 eligible cases of suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in a controlled airspace in Sweden covering approximately 80,000 inhabitants.

Intervention

Automated external defibrillator (AED) delivery by drones integrated into emergency medical services for automated deployment.

Comparator

Standard emergency medical services (ambulances).

Outcome

Proportion of successful AED deliveries when drones were dispatched in cases of suspected OHCA.

Drone delivery of AEDs to real-life out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is feasible and can provide a time benefit compared to standard ambulance arrival.

Limitations

Further improvements are needed to increase dispatch rate and time benefits.

Abstract

AIMS: Early defibrillation is critical for the chance of survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Drones, used to deliver automated external defibrillators (AEDs), may shorten time to defibrillation, but this has never been evaluated in real-life emergencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of AED delivery by drones in real-life cases of OHCA. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this prospective clinical trial, three AED-equipped drones were placed within controlled airspace in Sweden, covering approximately 80 000 inhabitants (125 km2). Drones were integrated in the emergency medical services for automated deployment in beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights: (i) test flights from 1 June to 30 September 2020 and (ii) consecutive real-life suspected OHCAs. Primary outcome was the proportion of successful AED deliveries when drones were dispatched in cases of suspected OHCA. Among secondary outcomes was the proportion of cases where AED drones arrived prior to ambulance and time benefit vs. ambulance. Totally, 14 cases were eligible for dispatch during the study period in which AED drones took off in 12 alerts to suspected OHCA, with a median distance to location of 3.1 km [interquartile range (IQR) 2.8-3.4). AED delivery was feasible within 9 m (IQR 7.5-10.5) from the location and successful in 11 alerts (92%). AED drones arrived prior to ambulances in 64%, with a median time benefit of 01:52 min (IQR 01:35-04:54) when drone arrived first. In an additional 61 test flights, the AED delivery success rate was 90% (55/61). CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, we have shown that AEDs can be carried by drones to real-life cases of OHCA with a successful AED delivery rate of 92%. There was a time benefit as compared to emergency medical services in cases where the drone arrived first. However, further improvements are needed to increase dispatch rate and time benefits. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04415398.