Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Automated External Defibrillator Delivery in the Seattle King County Region Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

Using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to deliver a shock to a cardiac arrest patient before emergency medical services arrive increases the likelihood that the patient will survive. This thesis explores the possibility of using unmanned aerial systems (UASs, or drones) to deliver AEDs to patients experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Washingtons Seattle/King County regionparticularly in suburban and rural areas where traditional emergency response may be delayed. The researcher collected qualitative data on OHCA incidents in the region over a five-year period and ran simulated models to determine whether an AED-equipped UAS could arrive to a cardiac arrest patient faster than a traditional ground response. The research concluded that such UASs could be launched and maintained by a single organization, and could significantly decrease response times to the suburban and rural areas of the Seattle/King County region.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1065557

Entities

People

  • Aaron M. Tyerman

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Cardiac Arrest
  • Cardiac Arrhythmias
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  • Disasters
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • Health Services
  • Heart Diseases
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Urban Areas

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Trauma or Military Medicine
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy