Evaluation of eVTOL Suitability for EMS
Marking another confluence of interests between purely military issues and the civil development environment, Airbus Helicopters has partnered with the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation to develop CityAirbus NextGen’s future missions for medical services in Norway. To this end, the parties will jointly measure the added value of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for a selection of medical services, in order to integrate the operational requirements into the configuration of the Airbus eVTOL.
Focusing on how eVTOL aircraft can be used for different types of air medical missions, the two organisations will elaborate a comprehensive roadmap aimed at reducing emergency response time. In order to improve patient outcome and overall EMS performance, they will follow a long-term strategic approach to research the complementary nature of existing assets, such as conventional helicopters, and eVTOLs when the technology enters service. This approach could be further expanded in the region through collaboration with other countries, to optimise operations beyond the national healthcare system.
Prof Hans-Morten Lossius, Secretary General of the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, stated “Airbus’ aviation expertise across the board is a major asset to help us combine different aircraft for medical services. Complementarity is a key driver in this endeavour: helicopters remain essential to perform EMS missions, whilst eVTOLs can bring additional capabilities to support first responders, for instance by transporting medical specialists to accident scenes or organs from one medical site to another.”
Balkiz Sarihan, Head of Urban Air Mobility at Airbus, added “The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation has always been at the forefront of medical innovation, most recently with dedicated research to integrate a CT scanner into a five-bladed H145 helicopter. We’re looking forward to working with the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation as a strategic partner to further develop the exact missions where our eVTOL’s capabilities would contribute to protecting citizens and making sure they can access effective healthcare in Norway.”
As a result, the first step toward the creation of a medical eVTOL ecosystem will be the evaluation of the efficiency of Norway’s current EMS, simulating various scenarios and integrating advanced air mobility assets. To develop the right concepts of operations, the two organisations will drive definition of the foundational elements of the eVTOL ecosystem in the country, including for infrastructure, traffic management and energy sourcing and distribution.
Operating a mixed fleet of H135 and H145, the Norwegian Air Ambulance is Norway’s national Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operator. With more than 40 years’ experience in emergency medical response, the service supports pre-hospital care across the country by delivering air ambulance services to provide patients with advanced medical solutions through state-of-the-art aircraft and equipment configurations.
