INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Each year in the U.S., more than 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest, and fewer than 10% survive. The primary obstacle is time. When a heart stops, every minute without treatment reduces survival odds by about 10%. Despite decades of medical advances, that survival rate remains stagnant. Now, researchers are testing a first-of-its-kind, high-tech way to close that critical gap.

Drones, once associated with combat zones and fireworks shows, are taking on a new mission: saving lives.

“We’ve discovered that the first five minutes matter the most for survival,” Dr. Monique Starks, a physician at Duke University School of Medicine said.

Researchers at Duke Health are testing whether drones can deliver automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, faster than emergency crews can respond.

“If we can get treatment within five minutes for a patient with a shockable arrhythmia, survival can be about 50%,” Starks said.

If a bystander uses an AED within two to three minutes, survival rates rise to 70%. However, average ambulance response times range from seven to 12 minutes in urban areas and can exceed 20 minutes in rural communities.

When a 911 call happens, a drone takes off at the same time as paramedics.

“Once they arrive, the drone flies at about 200 feet, it lowers to 100 feet, and then it winches the AED safely to the ground,” Starks said.

As the device reaches the ground, a 911 dispatcher guides a bystander through the steps to use it.

“The AED drone overview is probably one of the greatest things since sliced bread. I say that because it’s a whole nother level of patient care,” Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. said.

The goal is to get life-saving equipment into people’s hands faster than ever.

“It’s not a bird, not a plane, no, it’s not Superman, but it’s a drone delivering an AED saving lives,” Kimbrough said.

The trial is currently happening in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and James City County, Virginia. Researchers expect results in the summer of 2027.

The team hopes these drones can deliver a defibrillator in less than five minutes to more than half the people in the study area. If the study succeeds, this technology could expand to communities nationwide. The American Heart Association funds the project.