Thanks to a patent awarded to Google on Tuesday, the tech giant may have a leg up on the competition when it comes to flying life-saving medical equipment into remote locations on demand. The patent describes a dispatch system, like an emergency intercom, that can call for a drone to fly in with an urgent delivery.
The device would allow users to press a button indicating the specific medical emergency or request, (cardiac arrest, neck injury, anaphylactic shock, arm splint, inhaler, etc.) and the system would deploy a drone to meet their needs at the scene. In the case of a heart attack, for instance, the system could theoretically deploy a defibrillator.
In remote regions, such a system could have a truly disruptive impact on emergency care. Hypothetically, it would not only improve access to urgent treatment, but it would also diminish the need for rural areas to undergo the sometimes complex or tedious maintenance of their own emergency devices.
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The delivery drone would carry a medical box that will have text explanations on screen to instruct the user, or emergency care provider, on how to perform the procedure, according to the patent. The drone arrives on the scene via Wi-Fi or cell phone signal.
If this sounds a bit familiar, that may be because Google announced Project Wing late last year, which is geared more broadly toward using drones as delivery agents. In the following video see how one lucky dog discovers that his favorite snacks fall from the sky:
The cost to purchase, install and maintain automated external defibrillators (AEDs) or other medical support implements in a public or commercial place can be significant. For example, an AED may cost around $2,000-$3,000 just to install and laws may require multiple AEDs to be placed within a building or other large space. The technology described in the patent aims to mitigate those costly speed bumps.
Moreover, the patent states, typical AEDs must be manually maintained, requiring trained personnel to periodically visit the site at which it is installed, levying additional burden and cost to the building or facility owner (yep, drones would eliminate that problem too).
