Swedish drone company Everdrone is delivering a much-needed shock to the UAV industry. The startup has launched a project to deliver automated external defibrillators to the scene of cardiac arrests in real-world emergencies.

Initially launched as a pilot project in the Gothenburg region of Sweden, the initiative is expanding internationally thanks to an agreement with Copenhagen Emergency Medical Services. The project will continue to collaborate with the Centre for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet to promote medical research.

Copenhagen EMS will act as a research partner and will be responsible for emergency dispatch services to determine which calls need priority drone assistance.

“The research project in Sweden is running along as planned and final evaluation of feasibility will take place during autumn,” Karolinska Institutet project investigator Andreas Claesson said.

“We believe there is great potential in this novel system, however further investigation is needed regarding the effect on a wider scale.”

The consortium is planning to deploy the drone service in Denmark by spring of 2021. Expectations are to initially reach more than 100,000 people in rural and semi-urban areas where ambulance response times are relatively long.

“In a cardiac arrest situation, it’s all about the response time and initiating treatment very quickly,” said Fredrik Folke, Head of Research at the Copenhagen Emergency Medical Services.

“By ensuring that our operators provide high quality CPR instructions via phone, while the drone delivers an AED to the scene within minutes, bystanders can initiate life-saving measures before the arrival of the ambulance. The method of using drones to deliver emergency medical supplies shows great potential and may save numerous lives.”

“The deployment of the drone system in Gothenburg is a great start and we hope to make it a permanent part of Sweden’s emergency dispatch,” says Mats Sällström, CEO of Everdrone.

“Throughout the project, we have built a solid experience and learned lessons for the future. Based on what we have learned, we will refine the technology and operational procedures to improve response times with faster drones and optimized route planning, to make the system even more efficient and robust before launching in Denmark.”