Tests are underway between the hospitals of Maubeuge and Valenciennes, in the North. From the beginning of next year, if everything works correctly, drones will be able to deliver medical samples.
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A drone with a wingspan of three meters is filled with biological samples, urine samples, blood samples, all well packaged in insulated bags. It can carry up to five kilos, from the Maubeuge hospital to that of Valenciennes where the samples must be analyzed. These two hospitals in the North are testing the delivery of medical samples by drones and this technological innovation should make it possible to be five times faster in biological transport.
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The device used is entirely autonomous, programmed to fly alone, even if a pilot can take control remotely at any time during the 40 kilometers which separate the two hospitals. The drone covers this distance in just 25 minutes, instead of 45 minutes by car.
For the project manager, Pierre Houssin, this saves valuable time. “There is no transport hazard, in terms of traffic jams and 20 minutes in the diagnosis of meningitis can be important and also in the diagnosis of malaria. If we centralize it, it saves in efficiency and to be equipped with the latest generation equipment”he describes.
Deliveries scheduled for early 2024
According to the Delivrone company which provides the service, it is also an ecological gain with 95 to 99% less carbon impact. However, for the moment, it is only a test. The project leaders are awaiting the necessary authorizations to be able to fly over the area and begin experimentation with 30 return flights per day. “We will also do tests to see if the sample is not damaged so we will do the analysis on site and on arrival. The goal is to have the same result”, specifies Pierre Houssin. If everything works correctly, the system will be deployed in early 2024.
“In five or ten years, 70 to 80% of health establishments will use this technology, I am sure.”
Gauthier Dhaussy, co-founder of Delivroneat franceinfo
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The hospitals of Amiens, Abbeville and Montreuil-sur-Mer are already experimenting with this transport solution. This is also the case in the south between the private Hospital of Provence, in Aix-en-Provence and the French blood establishment in the same city. All hope one day to transport much more than samples, and in particular organs.
Two hospitals in the North are testing drone transport: report by Laura Lavenne
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