Academic Journal
Drones providing live video to dispatch centers during time-critical incidents.
| Τίτλος: | Drones providing live video to dispatch centers during time-critical incidents. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Kristiansson M; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. magnus.kristiansson@ki.se.; Innovation Platform, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden. magnus.kristiansson@ki.se., Andersson Hagiwara M; Prehospen-Centre for Prehospital Research, University of Borås, Borås, Sweden., Svensson L; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Schierbeck S; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Khalid Y; Division of Prehospital Care, Region Västra Götaland, Regionhälsan, Gothenburg, Sweden., Lundgren P; Prehospen-Centre for Prehospital Research, University of Borås, Borås, Sweden.; Center for Digital Health, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden.; Department of Thoracic Surgery and Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden.; Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden., Magnusson C; Emergency Medical Services, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden., Nordberg P; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden.; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Section on Intensive Care, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden., Hollenberg J; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Ringh M; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Forsberg S; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Claesson A; Centre for Resuscitation Science, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. |
| Πηγή: | BMC emergency medicine [BMC Emerg Med] 2026 Aug 28; Vol. 26 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 28. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968543 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-227X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1471227X NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Emerg Med Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Triage*/methods , Emergency Medical Dispatch*/methods , Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems* , Video Recording* , Unmanned Aerial Devices*, Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest/therapy ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Sweden ; Feasibility Studies ; Time Factors ; Fires ; Accidents, Traffic |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Early triage of emergency calls at dispatch centres relies mainly on verbal information, which may not reflect the complexity and severity of a situation, limiting dispatchers situational awareness and early decision-making. Real-time live-video could potentially be provided by drones before the arrival of emergency medical services and fire department. The aim was to evaluate feasibility and operational value of automated beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones delivering early live-video to emergency dispatch centres during time-critical incidents. Methods: This prospective interventional feasibility study was conducted in the region of western Sweden between 7th May-7th November 2025. One drone system with automated external defibrillator and a high-resolution camera was integrated into regional medical/fire dispatch centers, covering a 141 km2 suburban area (population approx 63 000) enabling real-time videofeed during emergency 112-calls. The drone was dispatched to consecutive alerts meeting predefined criteria (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, traffic accidents, fires). Outcomes included time delays, characteristics of drone- and video transmission together with dispatcher-perceived value assessed through surveys. Results: Of 169 alerts, the drone system was operational in 120 (71%). Within this operational population, the drone was deployed in 56/120 alerts (47%). Eleven alerts were subsequently cancelled following updated dispatch information, leaving 45 completed alerts in which the drone arrived on scene and delivered live video to the dispatch centres. The drone arrived first or was the only resource on scene in 44/45 completed alerts (98%), with a median dispatch-to-arrival time of 4:24 min compared with 8:50 min for responding ground units (p < 0.001). Video was transferred to dispatch centres in all (100%) completed alerts and was uninterrupted in 91%. Emergency medical dispatchers reported low/moderate value in 79% of incidents, and high value in 21% (n = 33), with a median score of 3.0 (IQR 1.0-5.0) on a 0-10 scale. Fire dispatchers reported low/moderate value in 33% and high value in 66% (n = 6), median 7.0 (IQR 5.5-9.3) on the same scale. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion: Deployment of a BVLOS drone to diverse time-critical emergencies is operationally feasible and demonstrates a clear arrival time advantage over ground responders. Perceived operational utility varies between dispatcher groups, with fire and rescue services deriving the greatest tactical benefit from early aerial situational awareness. These findings indicate potential for future drone-integration into emergency response systems. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was sought from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (2022-06624-01; 2024-06559-02). All participating dispatchers gave written informed consent. Video feeds showed non-identifiable overviews only and all data were stored securely. In addition, permission for camera surveillance in connection with healthcare operations was obtained from the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection. This authorisation (case number IMY-2024-10072) granted legal approval for the use of aerial video recording during time-critical medical incidents within the framework of the study, in accordance with Swedish camera surveillance legislation and data protection requirements. This research has been conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Assessment; Drone; EMDC; Video |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260902 Date Completed: 20260902 Latest Revision: 20260904 |
| Update Code: | 20260904 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13531748 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12873-026-01752-z |
| PMID: | 42681604 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1471-227X |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s12873-026-01752-z |