The use of drones for the delivery of diagnostic test kits and medical supplies to remote First Nations communities during Covid-19

BACKGROUND: Health care inequity in remote and rural Indigenous communities often involves difficulty accessing health care services and supplies. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, or drones, offer a potentially cost-effective method for reducing inequity by removing geographic barriers, increasing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Journal of Infection Control
Main Authors: Flemons, Kristin, Baylis, Barry, Khan, Aurang Zeb, Kirkpatrick, Andrew W., Whitehead, Ken, Moeini, Shahab, Schreiber, Allister, Lapointe, Stephanie, Ashoori, Sara, Arif, Mishal, Berenger, Byron, Conly, John, Hawkins, Wade
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. 2022
Subjects:
Major Article
First Nations
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9329072/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.03.004
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND: Health care inequity in remote and rural Indigenous communities often involves difficulty accessing health care services and supplies. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, or drones, offer a potentially cost-effective method for reducing inequity by removing geographic barriers, increasing timeliness, and improving accessibility of supplies, equipment, and remote care. METHODS: We assessed the feasibility of drones for delivery of supplies, medical equipment, and medical treatment across multiple platforms, including drone fleet development and testing; payload system integration (custom fixed-mount, winch, and parachute); and medical delivery simulations (COVID-19 test kit delivery and return, delivery of personal protective equipment, and remote ultrasound delivery and testing). RESULTS: Drone operational development has led to a finalized, scalable fleet of small to large drones with functional standard operating procedures across a range of scenarios, and custom payload systems including a fixed-mount, winch-based and parachute-based system. Simulation scenarios were successful, with COVID-19 test swabs returned to the lab with no signal degradation and a remote ultrasound successfully delivered and remotely guided in the field. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: Drone-based medical delivery models offer an innovative approach to addressing longstanding issues of health care access and equity and are particularly relevant in the context of SARS-CoV-2.

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