There are many uses for a drone; however, the one use that has most people in the medical industry enticed is the fact that a drone can deliver medical supplies to remote and otherwise difficult to reach places. There are numerous companies clamoring over each other to work out all the kinks involved in this process and discovering the best ways to get the job done. It can be difficult to get perishable and time sensitive material to those in need as quickly as possible and have it arrive in at least operational condition.
The drone that recently set the new distance record was flown through the Arizona desert and covered 161 miles. The drone was flown by Timothy Amukele, who works for John Hopkins University School of Medicine as an assistant professor of pathology, and other members of his team. It took approximately three hours for the drone carrying its load of human blood samples to make it the 161 miles over the desert. Please note that in order to ensure the samples of blood would ultimately arrive at the location in usable condition, the samples were kept at a specific temperature by a temperature controlled compartment located on the drone, which was also designed by the team.
According to Amukele, “drones can do what wheeled vehicles cannot. They can effortlessly travel across areas where there are no bridges or roads, easily overcome roadblocks and other impassible terrain, deftly maneuver around traffic and any other type of logistical inefficiencies that happen to be the enemy of better and more timely patient diagnoses and care. And, he goes on to add that these benefits are why drones will likely become the 21st century’s best and most often used medical delivery system.”
Most of us, including those employed in the medical industry, can not wait until we get a drone delivery system that is fully operational and ready for real time use in today’s world. It would be a lifesaver for many healthcare facilities that happen to be located in less populated and rural areas. In fact, Amukele has said that he anticipates that in the majority of cases, drone transport will shape up to be the fastest, safest and most effective choice to transport and deliver some medical supplies or biological samples to medical facilities or laboratories from rural and urban settings. He further adds that obtaining diagnostic results far more swiftly and under the most strenuous conditions will most assuredly not only improve care but would also save more lives.
Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/drone-sets-new-distance-record-for-delivery-of-medical-supplies