Drones vs. ambulances: can flying defibrillators save rural hearts?
NCT ID NCT06229418
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study explores whether drones can deliver automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to people experiencing cardiac arrest in rural areas faster than traditional emergency responders. Researchers will compare arrival times and see if drone delivery is practical enough to test in a future trial aimed at saving lives. The study involves 128 adults in rural communities who suffer cardiac arrest.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 128 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients 18 years of age or older in the CARES registry who suffer cardiac arrest before arrival of a 911-responder of non-traumatic cause, including patients who receive an AED shock by a bystander prior to the arrival of 911 responders. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients in the CARES registry who have a traumatic cause of cardiac arrest.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Forsyth County
RECRUITINGClemmons, North Carolina, 27012, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can tracking ambulance ventilators improve emergency breathing care?
- Can genes explain sudden cardiac death in young athletes?