It seems to me that delivery of biologic specimens from physician offices to clinical labs would be an ideal test for drones and this seems to be happening according to the Dark Report and Dark Daily (see: UPS and WakeMed Now Use Aerial Drone for Daily Transport of Clinical Laboratory Specimens). Below are some of the details:
In April,...The Dark Report ...[reported that] WakeMed Health and Hospitals...[used] a quadcopter drone to deliver patients’ medical laboratory specimens. The drone flew roundtrip between a complex of physicians’ offices on WakeMed’s Raleigh, N.C. campus and the central clinical laboratory. The flight was the culmination of a multi-year drone-delivery pilot program during which a team at WakeMed collaborated with the United Parcel Service (UPS), the Federal Aviation Commission (FAA), and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)....In April, the FAA issued an Air Carrier Certification to Wing Aviation LLC, an air delivery developer and subsidiary of Alphabet.....The FAA certification restricts drone deliveries to daylight hours only with no flying in the rain. The devices are allowed to fly over people but cannot hover above them, nor can they carry any hazardous materials. The company plans to launch a trial delivery service later this year in the Blacksburg and Christiansburg areas of Southwest Virginia. Wing hopes to add other markets to its drone delivery service in the future.... Prior to using drones for clinical laboratory specimen deliveries, WakeMed relied on courier cars and trucks to transport specimens within the campus. The ground delivery service could take up to an hour to complete. By comparison, drones can make the same delivery in minutes, ensuring lab specimens remain viable, and getting test results to patients faster.
There are several reasons that biologic specimen deliveries to clinical labs would seem to be ideal cargo for drones: (1) the specimens are relatively light; (2) rapid delivery is required because the specimens are biologic material and subject to degradation; (3) fast turn-around-time is expected for lab test results. Here are more details about drone delivery from an article focusing on Amazon's plans (see: Here’s Amazon’s new transforming Prime Air delivery drone). Below is an excerpt from it:
...[Amazon] accompanied the announcement of the new drone with a test flight video, showing how the craft transforms in midair. Amazon claims its goal for the finished Prime Air service is create “fully electric drones that can fly up to 15 miles and deliver packages under five pounds to customers in less than 30 minutes.” This may sound like a small payload, but Amazon says 75 to 90 percent of purchased items are under that weight limit.
Although some of the news about package delivery by drones has focused on rural services, the 15 mile distance limit would seem to restrict the service to cities and suburbs. The initial five pound weigh limit would still be suitable for most lab specimens.
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