A personal aviation device called Pulse, geared to help emergency providers, was on display at South Valley Airport in West Jordan in late July. (Tom Haraldsen/Salt Lake Business Journal)
When the victim of an accident begins to suffer loss of oxygen to their brain, time is critical to their survival. If oxygen can be restored within four to six minutes, a full recovery is possible. After seven to 10 minutes, some brain damage is likely, but after 11 to 15 minutes, a coma is inevitable and brain damage certain.
For the 46 million Americans who live in rural areas, the average response time for emergency personnel is over 14 minutes. Few are able to live after that delay. That was one motivation for Carl Dietrich, founder of Jump Aero, which has produced a personal aviation device that could make the difference between life and death for anyone injured in an area not easily accessible by emergency providers.
He brought his all-electric device to the South Valley Airport in West Jordan while towing it back to its home, in Petaluma, California. The former MIT student has developed Pulse, Jump Aero’s high-speed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed specifically for emergency response. The 3,100-pound aircraft can carry one person, like an EMT or other medical professional, to the site of an accident within a 30-mile radius in just minutes.
“The landing spot can be programmed into Pulse and the pilot can precisely reach that spot much quicker than even a medical helicopter,” he said. “Based on wind data, we have computer algorithms that tell the pilot where to land and the easiest way to get there. This can all be accomplished in the blink of an eye and the avionics are very robust, but also simple. That gets an emergency service provider to the scene of the accident and then he or she can administer aid.”
Called eVTOL technology for the vertical takoffs and landings, the Pulse prototype has already garnered much interest from communities, police and fire departments, and of course hospitals and medical clinics.
During the demo at the South Valley Airport, a helicopter began warming up, taking several minutes before it was ready for liftoff.
“We could have been in the air and halfway to the emergency at the top of a mountain before the chopper can even leave the airport,” Dietrich said. “This is obviously valuable time when someone has suffered an injury that is limiting oxygen to their brain.”
The Pulse does have some limitations. Extreme wind conditions over 40 mph or fog can have an effect, but it’s still less sensitive to gusts of wind than fixed-wing aircrafts. Windows allow the pilot to navigate their descent and landing as well. It allows the medical professional to have “boots on the ground faster than conventional methods,” Dietrich said.
The next steps involve future development and money. Entities that want to add Pulse to their emergency response arsenal will have to prepare for a hefty price tag of about $1.8 million to $2 million, which is still cheaper than an entry-level medical helicopter (an average of $2.4 million) or a top-tier medical chopper (about $5 million).
“We could be flying as soon as next year,” Dietrich said. “The goal right now is getting the concept out there to make people aware of the potential use of this new technology. There’s a lot of publicity around air taxis or personal use aircraft, and we think this is a fantastic use of this technology.”
The state of Utah has a memorandum of understanding with Jump Aero, as do several other entities. Dietrich said he’s also received interest from some private investors, as well as the U.S. Air Force.
“Anything that can bring a rapid response is something they are interested in,” he said.