Scientists continue to find new applications for drones and now an engineering graduate of Delft University of Technology has shown how the technology can be applied to emergency medicine for rescue situations.
Alec Momont, 23, unveiled his prototype for an "ambulance drone" Tuesday. The device takes the form of a flying defibrillator that can move at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, according to Yahoo! News. The machine is designed to get to heart-attack victims faster than ambulances could so victims have a better chance of recovering.
"Around 800,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest in the European Union every year and only 8.0 percent survive," Momont said. "The main reason for this is the relatively long time for emergency services of around 10 minutes, while brain death and fatalities occur with four to six minutes."
The graduate added that a patient within 4.6 square miles of the drone will receive the defibrillator within a minute, increasing the chance of survival from eight percent to 80 percent.
The drone would be deployed when emergency services get a call about someone suffering from cardiac arrest, CNET reported. It will bring livestream audio and video connection so medical professionals can look at the situation through a webcam and give people at the site instructions and talk them through the treatment. Professionals would also be able to teach patients how to use the defibrillator through the webcam, which would increase the amount of untrained people able to use one from 20 percent to 90 percent.
In theory, the aircraft would be able to reach a scene faster than an ambulance because it wouldn't have to deal with traffic.
Current air traffic laws in the Netherlands prohibit autonomous drone use, which presents a problem for Momont's invention, CNET reported. However, this law is expected to be reviewed and changed sometime next year.
The drone is still in development, and Momont wants it to be able to carry other pieces of equipment for different situations, such as an oxygen mask for a person trapped in a fire or an insulin injection for someone with diabetes, Yahoo! News reported.
The student plans to have a network of these drones providing aid across the Netherlands in five years, and he expects each unit to cost close to 15,000 euros ($19,000).
"I hope to save hundreds of lives in the next five years," Momont said.
