A Data-Driven Simulator for the Strategic Positioning of Aerial Ambulance Drones Reaching Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests: A Genetic Algorithmic Approach

Abstract

Objective: The Internet of Things provide solutions for many societal challenges including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to assist in emergency situations that are out of immediate reach for traditional emergency services. Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) can result in death with less than 50% of victims receiving the necessary emergency care on time. The aim of this study is to link real world heterogenous datasets to build a system to determine the difference in emergency response times when having aerial ambulance drones available compared to response times when depending solely on traditional ambulance services and lay rescuers who would use nearby publicly accessible defibrillators to treat OHCA victims. Method: The system uses the geolocations of public accessible defibrillators and ambulance services along with the times when people are likely to have a cardiac arrest to calculate response times. For comparison, a Genetic Algorithm has been developed to determine the strategic number and positions of drone bases to optimize OHCA emergency response times. Conclusion: Implementation of a nationwide aerial drone network may see significant improvements in overall emergency response times for OHCA incidents. However, the expense of implementation must be considered.

A simulation study of drone delivery of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) in the UK

“…Studies also continue to explore the retrieval and use of an AED delivered via drone and report positive experiences from participants interacting with a drone during OHCA in a community setting [ 28 , 29 ]. Mackle et al (2020) [ 30 ] recently linked real world datasets in Northern Ireland and built a system to determine the difference in emergency response times when having aerial ambulance drones available compared to response times when depending solely on traditional ambulance services and lay rescuers who would use nearby publicly accessible defibrillators to treat OHCA victims. Mackle et al (2020) [ 30 ] found that after the drone network was implemented, publicly accessible AEDs made up 19.74% of responses, ambulances made up 25.66% and drones made up 54.6% of total responses.…”

“…Mackle et al (2020) [ 30 ] recently linked real world datasets in Northern Ireland and built a system to determine the difference in emergency response times when having aerial ambulance drones available compared to response times when depending solely on traditional ambulance services and lay rescuers who would use nearby publicly accessible defibrillators to treat OHCA victims. Mackle et al (2020) [ 30 ] found that after the drone network was implemented, publicly accessible AEDs made up 19.74% of responses, ambulances made up 25.66% and drones made up 54.6% of total responses. Such studies along with ours are thus continuing to build the knowledge base for application and adoption of drones in this context.…”

The Role of Drones in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Scoping Review

“…Four studies [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ] were conducted in Canada, one [ 24 ] in France, two [ 25 , 26 ] in Germany, five [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ] in Sweden, two [ 32 , 33 ] in the United Kingdom, one [ 34 ] in Ireland, one [ 35 ] in South Korea and 10 [ 18 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ] in the United States. These locations varied in geographic scale from counties and towns to entire cities and covered a broad range of urban and rural settings.…”

Impact of Using Drones in Emergency Medicine: What Does the Future Hold?

“…38 Mackle et al likewise describe a country-wide algorithmic approach to design an aerial AED-drone network, coordinated among historical OHCA locations, fixed public AEDs retrievable by lay rescuers, and ground EMS stations with ambulance response. 39 The program compared fixed AED versus ground EMS versus simulated drone site determine where to station drones across Northern Ireland. A final model of 78 drone bases was chosen to ensure a nationwide standard (~100%) of AED arrival to a victim in under eight minutes, but also found almost 50% of OHCAs having an AED arrival in under three minutes.…”