@article{ref1,
title="Drones for provision of flotation support in simulated drowning",
journal="Air Medical Journal",
year="2018",
author="Bäckman, Anders and Hollenberg, Jacob and Svensson, Leif and Ringh, Mattias and Nordberg, Per and Djärv, Therese and Forsberg, Sune and Hernborg, Olof and Claesson, Andreas",
volume="37",
number="3",
pages="170-173",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: The feasibility and potential of using drones for providing flotation devices in cases of drowning have not yet been assessed. We hypothesize that a drone carrying an inflatable life buoy is a faster way to provide flotation compared with traditional methods. The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility and efficiency of using a drone for delivering and providing flotation support to conscious simulated drowning victims. <br><br>METHODS: A simulation study was performed with a simulated drowning victim 100 m from the shore. A drone (DJI Phantom 4; dji, Shenzhen, China) equipped with an inflatable life buoy of 60 N was compared with traditional surf rescue swimming for providing flotation. The primary outcome was delay (minutes:seconds). <br><br>RESULTS: A total number of 30 rescues were performed with a median time to delivery of the floating device of 30 seconds (interquartile range [IQR] = 24-32 seconds) for the drone compared with 65 seconds (IQR = 60-77 seconds) with traditional rescue swimming (P <.001). The drone had an accuracy of 100% in dropping the inflatable life buoy < 5 m from the victim, with a median of 1 m (IQR = 1-2 m). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Using drones to deliver inflatable life buoys is safe and may be a faster method to provide early flotation devices to conscious drowning victims compared with rescue swimming.<br><br>Copyright © 2018 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1067-991X",
doi="10.1016/j.amj.2018.01.007",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2018.01.007"
}