In a U.S. First, Drones Deliver AEDs in North Carolina County
Duke Health researchers are leading the nation’s first real-world test of drones delivering automated external defibrillators (AEDs) during 911 cardiac arrest calls--a breakthrough that could save countless lives. In Forsyth County, drones are now being dispatched alongside EMS to get AEDs to patients in under five minutes, far faster than traditional response times. The clinical trial, coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute with partners across the U.S. and Canada, aims to close the critical gap between cardiac arrest and treatment, when early defibrillation can raise survival rates from less than 10 percent to as high as 70 percent. If successful, the project will lay the foundation for a national model that brings lifesaving equipment to people faster, whether they live in dense cities or rural communities.
