It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Medical Response Drone.

In Clemmons, N.C., a drone could be the first responder at a cardiac arrest scene, under a pilot program that will launch in September. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, local emergency services, Duke University’s Clinical Research Institute, and drone consulting firm Hovecon are jointly operating the program. The sheriff’s office will monitor 911 calls and dispatch drones carrying automated external defibrillators. Emergency-services drones could beat ambulances to the scene of a cardiac arrest two thirds of the time.