Graduate student Alec Momont from Delft University of Technology’s Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering in the Netherlands has created an ‘ambulance drone’ fitted with defibrillator that can reach heart attack victims within minutes, and potentially help save thousands of lives. According to researchers, a device like this could help increase the chance of survival by 8-80 percent.
When a call is made in response to a patient going into cardiac arrest, this drone, an autonomously navigating airplane, can quickly deliver a defibrillator to the emergency scene. A live-stream video and audio connection is also part of the package, allowing emergency workers to respond accordingly.
Here’s what Momont said about his invention and it’s potential:
It is essential that the right medical care is provided within the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest. If we can get to an emergency scene faster we can save many lives and facilitate the recovery of many patients. This especially applies to emergencies such as heart failure, drownings, traumas and respiratory problems. It has become possible because of life-saving technologies, such as a defibrillator which can now be designed small enough to be transported by a drone.
He added:
Some 800,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest in the EU every year, and only 8 per cent survive. The main reason for this is the relatively long response time of the emergency services (approx 10 minutes), while brain death and fatalities occur within 4 to 6 minutes.The costs should not be an issue; I have calculated these at approximately 15,000 euros per drone, which is clearly a reasonable amount if you consider the number of lives that could be saved.
This is a pretty incredible contribution from a young person looking to help save lives.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
[Photo from flickr user David Rodriguez Martin]
