Everdrone expands world-first medical emergency drone network in Sweden
Swedish drone emergency medical service provider Everdrone is significantly expanding its pioneering network across Region Västra Götaland, aiming to reach 25% of the population through 10 strategically located Skybases by 2026. The expansion follows promising clinical trial results showing drones can deliver automated external defibrillators (AEDs) before ambulance arrival in two-thirds of cases, with a median time benefit of over three minutes. Callan Emery spoke to Mats Sällström, CEO of Everdrone, about the company’s ambitious plans to revolutionise emergency cardiac care.
The renewed partnership between Everdrone and Region Västra Götaland (VGR), announced in December 2024, represents a major milestone in prehospital emergency care. The collaboration extends through December 2026 and will see Everdrone’s Drone Emergency Medical Services (DEMS) platform deployed across 10 Skybases throughout the region.
“This is a major step forward for prehospital care in Sweden,” says Sällström. “With the support of VGR, we’re able to make drone-enabled care a real, reliable part of daily emergency response – and bring meaningful benefit to the people of Västra Götaland.”
Proven clinical effectiveness drives expansion
The expansion builds upon robust clinical evidence published in The Lancet Digital Health, which demonstrated the real-world effectiveness of drone-delivered AEDs. The prospective observational study, conducted between April 2021 and May 2022, involved 211 suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest alerts across approximately 200,000 inhabitants in western Sweden.
“AED-equipped drones dispatched in cases of suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrests delivered AEDs before ambulance arrival in two thirds of cases, with a clinically relevant median time benefit of more than 3 min,” the study authors concluded. “This intervention could potentially decrease time to attachment of an AED, before ambulance arrival.”
Of the 72 cases where drones were successfully deployed, AEDs were delivered in 58 cases (81%). Among the 55 cases with paired data for both drone and ambulance arrival times, drones arrived first in 37 cases (67%), achieving a median time benefit of 3 minutes and 14 seconds compared to ambulance arrival.
The clinical impact proved significant: in 18 confirmed cardiac arrest cases where drones arrived first, six patients (33%) had drone-delivered AEDs attached before emergency services arrived. Two patients with shockable rhythms were successfully defibrillated using drone-delivered AEDs before ambulance arrival, with one achieving 30-day survival.
Advanced technology enhances emergency response
The latest-generation DEMS system incorporates cutting-edge technology beyond simple AED delivery. Everdrone’s drones now feature integrated LiveView functionality, providing real-time video feeds directly to emergency services and dispatch centres. This capability enables early triage, improved resource allocation, and better-informed decision-making during critical events.
“Through this expansion, we’re combining two of the most powerful tools in emergency response – speed and visibility,” explains Jonatan Green, Project Manager at Sjukvårdens Larmcentral. “It’s not just about getting there faster, but about knowing more when you do.”
Sällström says the current drone fleet can travel at speeds of up to 80 km/h and can operate within an 8-kilometre radius, depending on payload. “However, we strive to design our operational areas for AED delivery so that the drone can be onsite in 2-3 minutes (2-3 km) to enable defibrillation within the recommended 5-minute time window from collapse.”
Operational excellence through centralised control
A key advantage of Everdrone’s system lies in its operational efficiency. All 10 planned systems will be centrally monitored from the company’s Mission Control Centre in Gothenburg by a single human drone operator, while local partners provide on-site service and maintenance.
This centralised approach represents a significant advancement from traditional emergency response models. The Lancet study notes that drones flew a median distance of 1.8 km compared to 4.6 km for ambulances, while maintaining consistent response times with less variation than ground-based services.
“The time from dispatch to arrival is shorter and varies less for drones, whereas the response time for ambulances is longer and shows greater variation than for drones,” the study authors observed.
Expanding medical applications
While the current focus remains on out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, Everdrone is exploring broader medical applications for its drone network. “We are looking at medical supplies other than AEDs, such as auto-injectors with adrenaline for anaphylactic shock, bleed-control kits for uncontrolled bleeding, antidote for drug overdoses, and more,” Sällström explains.
The company’s drones have also begun streaming live images to dispatch centres from various incidents, including traffic accidents and fires, demonstrating the technology’s versatility beyond medical emergencies.
Overcoming operational challenges
Despite impressive early results, Everdrone continues to address technical and environmental limitations. “Technical and environmental challenges are gradually being solved,” notes Sällström. “During 2025-2026 we expect to reach operations in ~98% of all weather conditions (mid-Sweden conditions). In the coming years we also need to see better coordination between manned and unmanned aviation in order to fly in more areas with less impact to other airspace users. The regulations are mostly already in place and our operational permit already extends to the entire EU. The missing link is centralised traffic management and electronic conspicuity between manned and unmanned aircraft. This development is rapidly evolving, driven by both governmental bodies and the industry.”
Future clinical trials
The partnership with VGR includes participation in a clinical trial led by Karolinska Institutet, scheduled for 2026. “The trial together with Karolinska Institutet in 2026 is currently being designed. It will focus on various hard clinical outcome indicators,” Sällström confirms, with the aim of providing definitive evidence of drone emergency services’ impact on patient survival.
Strategic focus on urban and semi-urban areas
Sällström says that he is often asked “why we are focused on urban areas when the ambulance response time is significantly longer in rural areas?” In answer, he says while rural areas often experience longer ambulance response times, the company’s simulation models demonstrate optimal cost-effectiveness in areas where each drone system can serve 30,000-100,000 residents.
“We must provide a service that is in line with health-economic calculations and our simulation models clearly show that the best cost-effectiveness is achieved in urban and semi-urban areas,” explains Sällström. “It is likely that Everdrone will operate other types of drones (long range drones) also in rural areas in the future, but the urban setting is the natural starting point for the AED use-case.”
The expanded VGR network represents more than technological advancement – it provides a working model for modernising emergency care through public-private collaboration, data-driven planning, and field-tested innovation. As drone emergency medical services move from experimental concept to operational reality, Sweden’s pioneering programme offers valuable insights for healthcare systems worldwide seeking to implement similar drone emergency medical services.
