The use of drones for delivery of various types of goods has been in the news lately (see: Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon’s drone delivery project, Prime Air). However, the use case that caught my attention was the delivery of clinical lab specimens (see: Johns Hopkins’ Test Drone Travels 161 Miles to Set Record for Delivery Distance of Clinical Laboratory Specimens), Below is an excerpt from this article:
....Johns Hopkins University Medicine (JHUM) has set a record in America for the longest distance drone delivery of viable medical specimens. In a project to demonstrate the viability of using drones to transport medical laboratory specimens, the Johns Hopkins University team flew a drone with specimens more than 161 miles across the Arizona desert. The goal is to bring autonomous medical delivery drones a step closer to transforming how specimens get transported across long distances.... In conducting its most recent study, Johns Hopkins researchers obtained paired chemistry and hematology samples from 21 adults.... A temperature-controlled specimen transport container designed by the Johns Hopkins University research team ensured the blood samples remained cooled and were viable for testing after the three-hour drone flight in the Arizona heat....The test flight adds to the growing evidence that unmanned aircraft may be the most effective way to quickly transport blood and other medical samples to clinical laboratories....Another major player in medical drone delivery is Zipline, a Silicon Valley-based drone delivery company that since October 2016 has flown more than 14,000 flights in Rwanda, delivering 2,600 units of blood.
It seems to me that the most relevant case for drone delivery of lab specimens and units of blood would occur in rural areas of the U.S. and also in less developed countries where there might be a lack of paved roads and commercial airline flights. My reading about drones suggests that other issues that might limit the practicality of drone delivery include range restrictions due to battery limitations and cargo weight. Here's additional information about the success of Zipline in Rwanda (see: Condom drops and airborne meds: 6 ways drones could change health care):
...California-based Zipline [has] started flying commercial drones from its distribution center in Muhanga, Rwanda, to nearly two dozen hospitals in the country. Health workers at remote clinics can order supplies via text. And Zipline promises to air drop the delivery in as soon as 15 minutes, cutting time on trips that once took hours to complete by car. Zipline, which has already completed more than 350 flights, claims on its website that its Muhanga facility will become Rwanda’s busiest airport sometime this summer.
Comments