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HIRO Emergency Response Drone Unveiled at Medical Conference
The current news seems to be dominated with pictures from all of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. These pictures show us all too much how difficult it can be for the victims of these disasters to receive the medical help they so desperately need. Unfortunately, other scenarios such as, mass shootings and remote emergencies, have also dominated our airwaves recently. These life or death situations can leave little to no time for an ambulance to respond. This only presses many of us to look for new ways to respond to these situations.
A new gadget presented at the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference in Center City on Monday may be just the device we are looking for to help us change how we respond to natural disasters and other critical response missions. The Healthcare Integrated Rescue Operations Drone, also known as HIRO, is designed to help the victim by not only providing crucial medical supplies but also by offering the virtual guidance necessary to help the victim survive any type of dire emergency.
HIRO was created at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at William Carey University by Dr. Italo Subbarao and Guy Paul Cooper Jr., a medical student. This is their first project to propel them into the ranks of the world of telemedicine with drone technology. Needless to say, they have high hopes for their invention. Their primary objective is to be able to launch their drones in the wilderness and utilize them for medical emergencies. Anywhere there is a need for medical help, they would love to see their drones there.
HIRO uses smartphone geolocation technology to arrive at the emergency location. The device will arrive with a stocked medical supply kit and will even provide a secure link to a remotely stationed doctor. The medical kit will be outfitted with the usual bandages, tourniquet, EpiPens and other necessary medical supplies. However, the kit will also feature a pair of camera-equipped smart glasses. These glasses will help the doctor see what is going on with the victim and help to guide them or the rescuers on how to act appropriately to save the life of the victim.
Dr. Subbarao stated, “this new technology will tell them to put on the smart glasses, their gloves and the ear piece, and then the doctor will appear on the screen and ask what is the emergency or say let me see the emergency.”
DR. Subbarao is hopeful for his new invention and cannot wait to see the effect it will have in real life or death situations. Currently, HIRO is still in test flight, but they are expecting to launch it sometime early next year.