Defibrillator delivered by drone helps save Swedish man's life

A bystander who stopped to perform CPR on the man said within minutes of dialing for help, a drone arrived overhead

By Leila Merrill

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden — An autonomous drone helped save a Swedish man’s life on Dec. 9, Newsweek reported.

The drone, made by Everdrone, delivered an automated external defibrillator to a doctor who was treating a 71-year-old man who started having cardiac arrest symptoms as he was shoveling snow outside his home.

The drone carried a lightweight automated external defibrillator. (Photo/Everdrone)

"I was on my way to work at the local hospital when I looked out the car window and saw a man collapsed in his driveway. I immediately understood that something was wrong and rushed to help. The man had no pulse, so I started doing CPR while asking another bystander to call 112 [the emergency number for Sweden]” said Dr. Mustafa Ali.

"Just minutes later, I saw something flying above my head. It was a drone with a defibrillator!"

The defibrillator reportedly arrived in just over three minutes, and Ali performed life-saving measures before an ambulance could arrive.

The patient, who does not want to be identified, has made a full recovery.

“I can't put into words how thankful I am to this new technology and the speedy delivery of the defibrillator. If it wasn't for the drone I probably wouldn't be here,” he said.

“This is an excellent real-world example of how Everdrone’s cutting-edge drone technology, fully integrated with emergency dispatch, can minimize the time for access to life-saving AED equipment”, said Mats Sällström, CEO of Everdrone, in a news release.