In 2021, researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden collaborated with Everdrone to test the delivery of defibrillators via drones to real-world heart attack victims. Recently, Everdrone announced a multipurpose drone to support ambulance teams, according to New Atlas.
In real-world tests funded by the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, conducted by the Karolinska Institute in 2020 in partnership with SOS Alarm, the Västra Götaland region, and Everdrone, defibrillators were dispatched by drone to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims at the same time as an ambulance. Of the 12 deployments of devices using E2 drones, only one failed to reach its destination, and seven arrived at the site before the ground ambulance teams—although the equipment was not used until the ambulances arrived. The drones covered an average distance of 3.1 kilometers.
The system proved its value later in late 2021 when a 71-year-old resident of Trollhättan suffered a cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in his driveway. Fortunately, an emergency doctor contacted Everdrone while en route to the patient's home, leading to the launch of an E2 drone carrying an automatic external defibrillator (AED), and the doctor managed to save the man's life before the equipped ambulance arrived.
The multipurpose E2 drone has recently joined the fleet and will be capable of delivering "direct shipments of any type of medical equipment ranging from AEDs to EPI pens and hemorrhage control tools, or other biomedical equipment" to where it is needed. The drone will be able to deploy within 15 seconds of receiving a distress call under all weather conditions. The drone has a speed of 23 m/s and a range of 8 km. It is equipped with an "advanced camera system" onboard that uses infrared with a tenfold zoom for high-definition live broadcasting to paramedics.
Everdrone indicates that its medical equipment delivery services by drone will cover "over 99% of the urban population in Europe" starting from the second quarter of 2024.
