• Michiel J van Veelen, Giovanni Vinetti, CappelloTomas DalTDInstitute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy., Frederik Eisendle, Abraham Mejia-Aguilar, Riccardo Parin, Rosmarie Oberhammer, Marika Falla, and Giacomo Strapazzon.
• Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy; Department of Sport Science, Medical Section, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: michiel.vanveelen@eurac.edu.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2024 Sep 17; 86: 5105-10.

IntroductionOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a high global incidence and mortality rate, with early defibrillation significantly improving survival. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of autonomous drone delivery of automated external defibrillators (AED) in a non-urban area with physical barriers and compare the time to defibrillate (TTD) with bystander retrieval from a public access defibrillator (PAD) point and helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) physician performed defibrillation.MethodsThis randomized simulation-based trial with a cross-over design included bystanders performing AED retrievals either delivered by automated drone flight or on foot from a PAD point, and simulated HEMS interventions. The primary outcome was the time to defibrillation, with secondary outcomes comparing workload, perceived physical effort, and ease of use.ResultsThirty-six simulations were performed. Drone-delivered AED intervention had a significantly shorter TTD [2.2 (95 % CI 2.0-2.3) min] compared to PAD retrieval [12.4 (95 % CI 10.4-14.4) min] and HEMS [18.2 (95 % CI 17.1-19.2) min]. The self-reported physical effort on a visual analogue scale for drone-delivered AED was significantly lower versus PAD [2.5 (1 - 22) mm vs. 81 (65-99) mm, p = 0.02]. The overall mean workload measured by NASA-TLX was also significantly lower for drone delivery compared to PAD [4.3 (1.2-11.7) vs. 11.9 (5.5-14.5), p = 0.018].ConclusionThe use of drones for automated AED delivery in a non-urban area with physical barriers is feasible and leads to a shorter time to defibrillation. Drone-delivered AEDs also involve a lower workload and perceived physical effort than AED retrieval on foot.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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