Drones to speed defibrillator delivery
Drones could speed up getting defibrillators to people having cardiac arrests, study suggests
Saturday, 26 September 2026
Warm-up
- Where are public defibrillators available in your area?
- What new uses of drones have you heard about?
- How can technology help in medical emergencies?
Vocabulary
- defibrillator
- A device that gives an electric shock to restart a heart.
- cardiac arrest
- A sudden stop of the heart that can quickly cause death.
- drone
- An unmanned aircraft controlled remotely or by software.
- radius
- A distance from a centre point to the edge of a circle.
- coverage
- The area or share of cases that a service can reach.
- retrieve
- To go and bring something back from a place.
- accessible
- Easy to reach, enter or use.
- resuscitate
- To bring someone back to breathing or consciousness.
Reading
Drones could cut the time to get defibrillators to people in cardiac arrest outside hospital, researchers say. The British Heart Foundation reports over 30,000 such UK cases each year, yet fewer than one in 10 survive. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces survival by 10%.
In the Greater Paris area, Matthieu Heidet's team analysed 28,349 cases from 2011–2024, excluding central Paris, and mapped them against 1,893 AEDs. About 30% occurred within 500 metres of an AED, and many devices are not accessible at all hours. Hillary Minka said 910 extra AEDs would raise 500‑metre coverage to 84.5%, while 1,712 would be needed for 100%.
Modelling showed drones with a 3,900‑metre radius could boost access with fewer sites. With 100 drone bases plus 26 extra AEDs, over 97% of cases lay near a fixed AED or a base. With 200 bases and four extra AEDs, over 99% did. Only 30–40% could retrieve an AED within five minutes by road, and in France just 8% receive a public AED before crews arrive, partly due to inaccessible units. In a 200‑base scenario using 871 existing AED sites plus four more, drone delivery reached virtually all cases within five minutes, helping bystanders resuscitate sooner.
Comprehension
- What problem are drones being tested to solve?
- Which city region did the researchers study?
- How close were about 30% of cases to a fixed AED?
- What share could reach an AED within five minutes by road?
- What did the 200‑base drone model achieve within five minutes?
Grammar focus
Wish / if only
Wish + past simple expresses a present wish or regret (wish + past). Wish + past perfect expresses a past regret (wish + had + past participle). (Examples constructed.)
- Bystanders wish drones were nearby.
- Volunteers wish they had detected the arrest earlier.
Grammar exercise
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- If only drone delivery (reach) ___ patients sooner.
- Bystanders wish they (have) ___ a drone nearby.
- Volunteers wish the devices (be) ___ available after hours.
- If only crews (arrive) ___ earlier.
- Researchers wish they (map) ___ more sites before 2024.
Discussion
- Should cities invest in more AEDs, drone bases, or both? Why?
- Where would drone bases work well or badly in your area?
- How can bystanders feel ready to use a defibrillator?
- What risks or rules should govern medical drones?
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