NSF Award
2432182
An estimated 350,000 individuals experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the United States (US) annually; only ~10% survive. For every minute that passes without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, survival likelihood decreases by 10%. Survival is most likely when CPR and defibrillation occur within 5 minutes, but the median emergency medical services (EMS) arrival time in the US is 8 minutes and is far longer in rural areas. Drones have the potential to decrease AED delivery time, especially in the ~80% of OHCAs that occur in the home, and especially in rural areas. Our prior work has shown that a statewide drone network could decrease median AED arrival time from 7.7 to 2.7 minutes in North Carolina (NC) and double survival rates (24.5% v. 12.3%). However, EMS-integrated AED-drones have not been evaluated in the US. Our study will evaluate an innovative application of drone technology using a multidisciplinary approach in a real-world environment in rural, residential, and urban areas of NC.<br/><br/>Using a multidisciplinary approach in a real-world environment in rural, residential, and urban areas of NC, we propose to evaluate the feasibility and time savings of integrating an AED-drone delivery system into an existing EMS dispatch/9-1-1 telecommunication system. This fully integrated drone-AED-EMS system will be ready to respond to suspected OHCA cases in the field and augment traditional ground transport. We will also evaluate EMS readiness to implement a statewide AED-drone network across NC. Finally, we aim—for the first time in NC and possibly the US—to dispatch an AED-drone to a live OHCA via an EMS-integrated system. <br/><br/>This project is in response to the Civic Innovation Challenge program’s Track B. Bridging the gap between essential resources and services & community needs and is a collaboration between NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
