Forsyth County residents calling 911 for cardiac arrests may now see a new kind of response: drones delivering automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
The effort is part of a groundbreaking Duke Health study that researchers say would dramatically improve survival rates.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1,000 Americans a day suffer cardiac arrests, with roughly 350,000 each year occurring outside of a hospital. The survival rate is just 10%.
Dr. Monique Starks, a Duke cardiologist and principal investigator for the Drone-Delivered AED Study, said equipping people with AEDs could push survival rates closer to 50-70%.
“Drones don’t have to adhere to traffic patterns in the way first responders and EMS do,” Starks explained. “It flies unimpeded at 40 miles per hour to get to the site of cardiac arrest.”
The physician said the technology could be especially impactful in rural communities.
“In rural areas where response times may be 10-12 minutes, we’re able to significantly lower that,” Starks said. “The other thing that we’re testing is to increase the ability of that bystander to apply and use that AED. We believe we can increase those numbers from about 2% in Forsyth County to more than 30%.”
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said the program integrated drone pilots that already worked for the department, directly into the 911 system to help in emergency situations.
“The drones get there before the patrol car gets there, so we see what’s happening in real time,” Kimbrough said. “It has truly been a gamechanger. EMS is not taken out of the loop; we are coming by air, and they are coming by ground.”
Initial test flights showed the drones could deliver the device in an average of 4 minutes, often faster than an ambulance could arrive.
Kimbrough led the charge to obtain FAA approval for the drone pilots to operate the drones beyond their line-of-site, which Starks said is crucial to reaching people quickly. Drones currently can fly up to 4.5 miles away.
Kimbrough estimates six drones will be needed to cover all of Forsyth County. The program is expected to expand to its second base in northwestern Forsyth County soon.
Starks added the program is also being tested in James City County, Virginia.
In 2021, Atrium Health used a drone to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to area pharmacies.