Lammers Daniel T, Williams James M, Conner Jeffrey R, Baird Emily, Rokayak Omar, McClellan John M, Bingham Jason R, Betzold Richard, Eckert Matthew J
Department of General Surgery, Madigan ArmyMedical Center, Tacoma, Washington, USA.
Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Transfusion. 2023 May;63 Suppl 3:S96-S104. doi: 10.1111/trf.17329. Epub 2023 Apr 17.
Innovative solutions to resupply critical medical logistics and blood products may be required in future near-peer conflicts. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in austere environments and may be a viable platform for medical resupply and the transport of blood products.
A literature review on PubMed and Google Scholar up to March of 2022 yielded a total of 27 articles that were included in this narrative review. The objectives of this article are to discuss the current limitations of prehospital blood transfusion in military settings, discuss the current uses of UAVs for medical logistics, and highlight the ongoing research surrounding UAVs for blood product delivery.
UAVs allow for the timely delivery of medical supplies in numerous settings and have been utilized for both military and civilian purposes. Investigations into the effects of aeromedical transportation on blood products have found minimal blood product degradation when appropriately thermoregulated and delivered in a manner that minimizes trauma. UAV delivery of blood products is now actively being explored by numerous entities around the globe. Current limitations surrounding the lack of high-quality safety data, engineering constraints over carrying capacity, storage capability, and distance traveled, as well as air space regulations persist.
UAVs may offer a novel solution for the transport of medical supplies and blood products in a safe and timely manner for the forward-deployed setting. Further research on optimal UAV design, optimal delivery techniques, and blood product safety following transport should be explored prior to implementation.
在未来的近对等冲突中，可能需要创新的解决方案来重新供应关键医疗物资和血液制品。无人驾驶飞行器（UAV）在严峻环境中的使用越来越多，可能是医疗物资重新供应和血液制品运输的可行平台。
截至2022年3月，在PubMed和谷歌学术上进行的文献综述共产生了27篇文章，纳入了本叙述性综述。本文的目的是讨论军事环境中院前输血的当前局限性，讨论无人机在医疗物流中的当前用途，并强调围绕无人机进行血液制品运输的正在进行的研究。
无人机能够在众多场景中及时运送医疗用品，已被用于军事和民用目的。对航空医疗运输对血液制品影响的调查发现，在适当的温度调节下并以尽量减少创伤的方式运送时，血液制品的降解最小。全球众多实体目前正在积极探索无人机运送血液制品。当前存在缺乏高质量安全数据、承载能力、储存能力和飞行距离方面的工程限制以及空域法规等局限性。
无人机可能为向前部署环境中安全、及时地运输医疗用品和血液制品提供一种新的解决方案。在实施之前，应进一步研究无人机的最佳设计、最佳运送技术以及运输后血液制品的安全性。
