Sweden’s Drone Lifesavers: How Everdrone Is Racing Against Time to Save Cardiac Arrest Victims

A Sky-High Expansion

Everdrone AB, the Gothenburg-based drone pioneer, just doubled down on its mission to revolutionize emergency medical care. The company renewed and expanded its partnership with Region Västra Götaland (VGR), locking in their collaboration until December 2026. This isn’t just a paperwork shuffle—it’s a turbocharged plan to blanket the region with 10 new Skybases in just 7 months, putting drone-delivered defibrillators within reach of 25% of VGR’s population. For cardiac arrest victims, those minutes saved could mean the difference between life and death.

“This isn’t about replacing ambulances—it’s about beating them to the scene when every second counts,” says an Everdrone spokesperson.

Drones vs. Cardiac Arrest

The Drone Emergency Medical Services (DEMS) system has one clear enemy: out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA), where survival rates plummet without immediate intervention. Everdrone’s drones don’t just drop AEDs like futuristic vending machines—they’re part of a clinical trial led by Karolinska Institutet and VGR, rigorously measuring whether drones can tilt the odds in these critical moments. Early data suggests they can: in previous tests, drones arrived before ambulances 64% of the time, shaving an average of 3 minutes off response times.

Eyes in the Sky

But speed isn’t the only advantage. Everdrone’s LiveView feature streams real-time video to emergency dispatchers, giving them a bird’s-eye view of the scene before ground crews arrive. Imagine paramedics assessing a crowded park or a remote roadside crash via drone feed, strategizing their approach while still en route. It’s situational awareness at 80 mph.

“Drones aren’t magic—they’re tools. But when you combine them with data-driven planning and seamless integration into 911 systems, they become force multipliers,” notes a VGR project lead.

The Future of First Response

This partnership isn’t just about gadgets; it’s a blueprint for modernizing emergency care through public-private collaboration. By analyzing response patterns, population density, and historical OHCA data, Everdrone and VGR are building a scalable model that could extend far beyond Sweden. The goal? A world where drones aren’t novelties but standard infrastructure—like fire hydrants for the digital age. And with cardiac arrests claiming millions globally each year, that future can’t come soon enough.