Gairolla Jitender, Gupta Prakamya, Dobhal Shivashish, Dua Ruchi, Taneja Khushboo Kamal, Negi Gita, Choudhury Ranjan Kumar, Kotwal Atul, Singh Meenu
Department of Telemedicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), New Delhi, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2025 May;14(5):1637-1642. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_975_24. Epub 2025 May 31.
In certain parts of the world, the use of drones in health care is expanding to increase outreach and accessibility of health services. In India, states located in the Northern Himalayan region of the country have predominantly hilly and challenging topography, making it difficult to deliver medications and medical samples on time.
In the current study, initiatives for the use of drone technology in medicine were put into practice through a sequence of proof-of-concept trials that were conducted in a tertiary care facility in India to deliver antitubercular medications and blood products in the hard-to-reach terrain of the Himalayas and the transportation of samples to the laboratory.
A total of seven trials were conducted, which represent seven sorties, including round trips. Of these, five trials were successful while two trials failed due to environmental challenges. The trial's findings indicate that employing drones can reduce medicine delivery time and sample turnaround times in laboratories comparatively faster than conventional transportation methods (Google Map estimated driving times (minutes) (EDTs) [Median (Range) 130 (46-165] vs drone delivery times (DDTs) [Median (Range) 34 (16 - 35); = 0.009) in hilly terrain. Administrative, meteorological, and technological challenges were encountered during drone operations.
Drones can enable faster access to medical supplies, especially in remote locations.This study evaluated the feasibility and challenges involved in using drones to deliver medical supplies in hilly terrain areas.
在世界某些地区，医疗保健领域对无人机的使用正在扩大，以增加医疗服务的覆盖范围和可及性。在印度，该国北部喜马拉雅地区的各邦主要是山地，地形具有挑战性，使得按时运送药品和医疗样本变得困难。
在本研究中，通过一系列概念验证试验将无人机技术在医学中的应用举措付诸实践，这些试验在印度的一家三级护理机构进行，目的是在喜马拉雅山难以到达的地区运送抗结核药物和血液制品，以及将样本运送到实验室。
总共进行了七次试验，代表七次飞行任务，包括往返行程。其中，五次试验成功，两次试验因环境挑战而失败。试验结果表明，与传统运输方式相比，使用无人机可以更快地缩短药品交付时间和实验室样本周转时间（在山区，谷歌地图估计驾驶时间（分钟）（EDTs）[中位数（范围）130（46 - 165）]与无人机交付时间（DDTs）[中位数（范围）34（16 - 35）]；P = 0.009）。无人机操作过程中遇到了行政、气象和技术方面的挑战。
无人机能够更快地获取医疗用品，尤其是在偏远地区。本研究评估了在山区使用无人机运送医疗用品所涉及的可行性和挑战。
