ArticleThe European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care2023
Can drones save lives and money? An economic evaluation of airborne delivery of automated external defibrillators.
Article in The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drone-delivery of defibrillators reduces time to defibrillation in a ski resort: a randomised simulation-based trial.Resuscitation plus · 2026Article
- Barriers and enablers to public access defibrillation - an international RAND-UCLA consensus study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Advancements in Public First Responder Programs for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: An Updated Literature Review.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
- Study on medical professionals' acceptance of and factors influencing drone delivery for medical supplies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Drones delivering automated external defibrillators for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A scoping review.Resuscitation plus · 2025Review
- Review
- Emergency Medicine Perspectives: The Importance of Bystanders and Their Impact on On-Site Resuscitation Measures and Immediate Outcomes of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- [AED drones on the rise? : Use of drones to improve public access defibrillation].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest is one of the most frequent causes of death in Europe. Emergency medical services often struggle to reach the patient in time, particularly in rural areas. To improve outcome, early defibrillation is required which significantly increases neurologically intact survival. Consequently, many countries place Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in accessible public locations. However, these stationary devices are frequently not available out of hours or too far away in emergencies. An innovative approach to mustering AED is the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which deliver the device to the scene.
methodsThis paper evaluates the economic implications of stationary AED versus airborne delivery using scenario-based cost analysis. As an example, we focus on the rural district of Vorpommern-Greifswald in Germany. Formulae are developed to calculate the cost of stationary and airborne AED networks. Scenarios include different catchment areas, delivery times and unit costs.
resultsUAS-based delivery of AEDs is more cost-efficient than maintaining traditional stationary networks. The results show that equipping cardiac arrest hot spots in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald with airborne AEDs with a response time < 4 min is an effective method to decrease the time to the first defibrillation The district of Vorpommern-Greifswald would require 45 airborne AEDs resulting in annual costs of at least 1,451,160 €.
conclusionIn rural areas, implementing an UAS-based AED system is both more effective and cost-efficient than the conventional stationary solution. When regarding urban areas and hot spots of OHCA, complementing the airborne network with stationary AEDs is advisable.
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