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.