About
RESTORe-CARE is a pilot study to test drone-delivered Automated External Defibrillator (AED)s for cardiac arrests in America.
The pilots will be conducted in Forsyth County, NC and James City County, VA through 2027. Led in collaboration with local emergency services, the goal of the study is to learn if drone AED delivery can improve response times and increase bystander treatment, particularly in rural areas.
Because every minute counts, the RESTORe-CARE Drone AED Delivery Program will test an emergency healthcare drone delivery system that can deliver AEDs to OHCA locations more rapidly than can be achieved with current first responder and EMS systems. If delivering AEDs by drone proves faster during the pilot, it can lead to future clinical trials testing the ability to improve cardiac arrest survival.
The study’s three Specific Aims are:
- Aim 1: Define options for emergency healthcare drone station configurations best suited for rural communities and use these findings to help design future drone AED delivery programs in rural communities.
- Aim 2: Building upon Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved drone-as-first responder (DFR) programs in two urban United States (US) regions, we will develop procedural and operational infrastructure for drone AED delivery that can be adapted to rural communities.
- Aim 3: Pilot test the safety and effectiveness of emergency drone AED delivery models in two urban and four rural communities in Forsyth County, NC and James City County, VA.
RESTORe-CARE is part of The Rural Health Equity and Research Network (HERN), funded by the American Heart Association. HERNs ReciPROcal Innovations to Improve Cardiovascular CARE in Rural America (Rural PRO-CARE) initiative supports several cardiac interventions including RESTORe-CARE. Learn more at the Rural PRO-CARE site.
Study Leaders
The RESTORe-CARE study is overseen by researchers and technology consultants in collaboration with local emergency services. The study leadership team is:
Monique Anderson Starks, MD
Monique Anderson Starks, MD wanted to be a doctor from the time she was very young, but it was when her own father had a heart attack in his 30’s that she knew she wanted to be a heart specialist. As a general cardiologist at Duke, she cares for patients with a wide range of heart issues including palpitations, abnormalities, hypertension and heart attacks. Dr. Starks works between two clinics, serving people from a variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds in the community. One of her main interests is cardiac arrest, specifically regarding survival of patients who have undergone CPR in a non-hospital setting. Read more about Dr. Starks’ education and experience.
Joseph P. Ornato, MD
Joseph P. Ornato, MD is a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Ornato is an active researcher focused on acute cardiovascular/prehospital care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. During his career he has helped bring national prominence to VCU’s emergency cardiac care through numerous high-impact publications and his leadership in clinical research initiatives, such as the NIH-sponsored Neurological Emergency Treatment Trials (NETT) Network and NIH Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC). Read more about Dr. Ornato’s education and experience.