University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Test Site, College Park, Maryland.
Ann Surg. 2021 Sep 1;274(3):e282-e288. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003630.
To understand and overcome the challenges associated with moving life-urgent payloads using unmanned aircraft.
Organ transportation has not been substantially innovated in the last 60 years. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS; ie, drones) have the potential to reduce system inefficiencies and improve access to transplantation. We sought to determine if UASs could successfully be integrated into the current system of organ delivery.
A multi-disciplinary team was convened to design and build an unmanned aircraft to autonomously carry a human organ. A kidney transplant recipient was enrolled to receive a drone-shipped kidney.
A uniquely designed organ drone was built. The aircraft was flown 44 times (total of 7.38 hours). Three experimental missions were then flown in Baltimore City over 2.8 miles. For mission #1, no payload was carried. In mission #2, a payload of ice, saline, and blood tubes (3.8 kg, 8.4 lbs) was flown. In mission #3, a human kidney for transplant (4.4 kg, 9.7 lbs) was successfully flown by a UAS. The organ was transplanted into a 44-year-old female with a history of hypertensive nephrosclerosis and anuria on dialysis for 8 years. Between postoperative days (POD) 1 and 4, urine increased from 1.0 L to 3.6 L. Creatinine decreased starting on POD 3, to an inpatient nadir of 6.9 mg/dL. The patient was discharged on POD 4.
Here, we completed the first successful delivery of a human organ using unmanned aircraft. This study brought together multidisciplinary resources to develop, build, and test the first organ drone system, through which we performed the first transplant of a drone transported kidney. These innovations could inform not just transplantation, but other areas of medicine requiring life-saving payload delivery as well.
了解并克服使用无人机搬运生命危急货物所面临的挑战。
器官运输在过去 60 年中没有得到实质性的创新。无人机系统（UAS；即无人机）有可能减少系统效率低下的问题，并改善器官移植的可及性。我们试图确定无人机是否可以成功整合到现有的器官交付系统中。
成立了一个多学科团队来设计和制造一架能够自主携带人体器官的无人机。招募了一名肾移植受者接受无人机运送的肾脏。
成功制造出一架独特设计的器官无人机。该飞机共飞行了 44 次（总计 7.38 小时）。然后在巴尔的摩市进行了三次实验性飞行，总距离为 2.8 英里。在任务#1 中，没有携带任何有效负载。在任务#2 中，一架载有冰、生理盐水和血液管的无人机（3.8 公斤，8.4 磅）成功飞行。在任务#3 中，一架用于移植的人体肾脏（4.4 公斤，9.7 磅）被一架 UAS 成功运送。该器官被移植到一名 44 岁的女性体内，该女性患有高血压性肾硬化症，已进行透析 8 年且无尿。在术后第 1 天到第 4 天期间，尿量从 1.0 升增加到 3.6 升。肌酐从术后第 3 天开始下降，至住院期间的最低点 6.9 毫克/分升。患者于术后第 4 天出院。
在这里，我们首次成功使用无人机运送了人体器官。这项研究汇集了多学科资源，开发、制造和测试了首个器官无人机系统，通过该系统进行了首次移植无人机运送的肾脏。这些创新不仅可以为移植领域，也可以为其他需要生命危急货物输送的医学领域提供信息。
