Drone AED Delivery Could Shorten Time to Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Defibrillation

Yet automated external defibrillators (AEDs) may be difficult to reach quickly, particularly in rural areas and congested cities. Uneven access can delay treatment when time matters. To address this problem, researchers have evaluated whether drones could deliver AEDs faster than retrieval from fixed locations.

The proposed approach combines drone-delivered AEDs with an expanded network of fixed devices. Researchers assessed the approach in the Île-de-France region. In the proposed system, a drone would bring an AED to the scene, where a bystander would collect and use it with guidance from emergency services. Specially trained personnel or automated systems supervised by emergency services could operate the drones.

The researchers used cardiac arrest data from seven departments outside central Paris in a computer simulation. They compared additional fixed AEDs, drone delivery, and a combination of both strategies. The region was divided into small census areas known as Îlots Regroupés pour l’Information Statistique (IRIS), and AED arrival times were estimated for the center of each area. Potential drone bases included existing AED sites, mobile intensive care units, and fire stations.

The analysis found gaps in AED access in rural areas and on the outskirts of Paris. Expanding the fixed network alone would require 1,712 additional AEDs, bringing the total to 3,605. Under the combined strategy, modeled AED access times fell by an average of 3.76 minutes across IRIS areas. More than 95% of cardiac arrest cases could receive an AED within five minutes, compared with 30% to 40% using road-based retrieval from existing fixed locations.

A modeled network of 200 drone bases and 871 fixed AED sites covered 99.4% of 28,349 cardiac arrest cases. The researchers reported an estimated reach of 3,900 meters for the combined approach, compared with 500 meters for fixed AEDs alone. The findings were presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress (EUSEM 2026). Because no drones were deployed, the estimates do not account for regulatory, weather, or operational constraints; the researchers said prospective studies and real-world testing are needed.

"Drones will never replace bystanders, resuscitation efforts or emergency medical teams. However, they could represent an additional link in the chain of survival and help make defibrillation available more quickly," said Dr. Hillary Minka, an emergency physician at Lariboisière Hospital in Paris.

"Our findings highlight the potential value of investing in innovative solutions aimed at reducing inequalities in access to emergency care and optimizing the geographical distribution of emergency resources," said Dr. Minka.

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