The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) by bystanders who witnessed a cardiac arrest can considerably improve survival. Farheen tells us how drones can help save lives in the weekly column, exclusively in Different Truths.
Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency in which a person experiences a sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing, and consciousness. It’s time-sensitive, therefore, even defibrillating the patient a minute before paramedics arrive, you can save the patient. Saving a patient’s life doesn’t require medical expertise because defibrillators give spoken instructions and you can easily follow the instructions and save a life.
Every year, nearly 450,000 Americans die due to cardiac arrest. A close to 88 per cent of cardiac arrests occur at home, and the survival rate for an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death is only seven per cent.
Of many factors that can cause cardiac arrest, Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) is the most common and it occurs when the lower chambers of the heart quiver and the heart are unable to pump any blood to the body.
Sudden cardiac arrest is irreversible, and you can revive the patient if the treatment is administered within three to five minutes from the time the patient has collapsed.
Considering the gravity of the situation and many other obstacles, the treatment must be delivered quickly. With traffic snarls at its peak, no or minimal bystander intervention, emergency response system not reaching on time, and many other such factors that lead to the patient not being able to survive.
We can certainly save lives if we have learned the basics of treating a patient who suffered a cardiac arrest.
The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (From Youtube)
The use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) by bystanders who witnessed the cardiac arrest can considerably improve survival. (From Youtube)
A defibrillator drone is a quadcopter that carries an AED (from Youtube)
It is designed to carry AED where a victim of cardiac arrest has been reported, surpassing conventional emergency services with its amazing speed and reducing the response time by approximately 16 minutes.
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and science cover everything from the aerodynamics of the drone, materials in the manufacture of the physical UAV, to the circuit boards, chipset, and software which are the brains of the drone. Most drones have very similar systems incorporated.
You must be wondering how a drone is controlled. Some drones are controlled with an app on your tablet or touchscreen computer. There are some drones that are operated using remote controls like the one designed for a video game console.
Reuters says “Google, for example, has a patent for drone delivery of defibrillators and other medical supplies, and companies have also proposed using drones to deliver everything from pizza to official documents.”
Christian Cooper of the National Ambulance Resilience Unit says, “It is also looking at the possibility of using drone technologies to deliver blood and organs for transplant”.
To understand how drones work and the technology used for drones, you may read more[i].
Keeping drones use, many people yearn to buy a drone but it’s not easy as it appears. There is a law in place, therefore, it is recommended to seek appropriate permissions before flying a drone.
Do you want to buy a drone? The process involves information on drones for sale in India, import taxes and requirements, payment, and shipping.
You can fly drones in India but you can fly them only on private property. You must also have permission from the owner of the private property. If your requirement is to fly a drone over public property it is necessary to seek permission from the local authorities. You are not allowed to fly a drone in areas that are packed with people. In addition, you cannot fly a drone near airports or near military establishments.
Moreover, the Indian Director General of the Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down guidelines on using and operating drones in India. To know more about the guidelines, you may refer the link.[ii]
Abiding by all the norms and considering the advantage of drones in medical emergencies, drones have increased the survival rate of the patients and rescuing many lives so far. In our brave hearts list, we ought to add drones for sure.
Next time, when you see a drone appreciate it you never know it is on its mission to save a life!
Reference
[ii] http://www.dgca.nic.in/misc/draft%20circular/AT_Circular%20-%20Civil_UAS(Draft%20April%202016).pdf
Picture design Anumita Roy
Videos from YouTube
#TechGuru #LifeSavingDrones #DroneDefibrillator #MissionToSaveLife #DronesInIndia #HelicoptorDronesForMedicalPurpose #DifferentTruths
Farheen Viquas is a Senior Technical Editor/Writer working in Bangalore, India. She has worked as a Technical Writer/Editor, Mentor/Coach, Language Consultant, Information Tester, English Trainer, and Transcriber. When not at work, she loves to cook, read, write poetry and prose, listen to music, bake cakes, fish keeping, and embroider. She is also a stained-glass enthusiast.
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