Drone use in health - Who else has a need?

Discussions
, ,
1

Back in July we noted the below NHS use of drones. I have a request from our pharmacy at Grafton to explore drone use for delivery of infusion medication prepared off site, that needs to be used within 90 minutes of preparation.

I raised this scenario with one of our SMOs in Auckland ED last week, who is also a helicopter pilot, and he is interested in exploring the role of drones (he provided one use case scenario of a postpartum haemorrhaging home birth on Great Barrier Island). As a helicopter pilot he brings both emergency response scenarios, and knowledge of Civil Aviation Authority requirements.

Can this forum help me find others around the country that see a useful application for drones? I know some conversations have been had in the past. It could be service resilience, or rural service opportunities. If thereā€™s enough interest, Te Whatu Ora could bring folks into a conversation about drones as a platform for service. In the same way weā€™re looking at 3D printing technology and working out how to do that well. It might be that there is work well progressed somewhere and I can find a way to follow on from that.

Please post a like if youā€™re interested, or a reply to connect me to others exploring the role of drones in health.

Thanks!

3 Likes
2

Justin,

Iā€™m happy to be part of a broader discussion, count me in.

Eileen

3

HI Justin

I heavily explored Drone use during our telehealth research programme last year for the delivery of medicines and other supplies to Rural communities. It was a no-go after the following considerations:

https://www.aviation.govt.nz/drones/
Consider others, be responsible:

  • Fly no higher than 120m (400ft) above the ground *definition of 120m above ground vs 120m above sea level is also a problem to consider when NZ terrain is often significantly above sea level.
  • Stay a safe and considerate distance away from people and buildings
    *** Donā€™t fly over private land, such as farms or houses, unless the owner says itā€™s OK**
  • Keep your drone in sight at all times
  • Stay 4 km away from anywhere aircraft are landing or taking off
  • Itā€™s dangerous to fly drones anywhere other aircraft are operating

New Zealand Civil Aviation Rules Top Tips:

There are 12 key things that are required under Part 101 - you must:

  1. not operate an aircraft that is 25 kg or larger and always ensure that it is safe to operate
  2. at all times take all practicable steps to minimize hazards to persons, property and other aircraft (ie, donā€™t do anything hazardous)
  3. fly only in daylight
  4. give way to all crewed aircraft
  5. be able to see the aircraft with your own eyes (eg, not through binoculars, a monitor, or smartphone) to ensure separation from other aircraft (or use an observer to do this in certain cases)
  6. not fly your aircraft higher than 120 metres (400 feet) above ground level (unless certain conditions are met)
  7. have knowledge of airspace restrictions that apply in the area you want to operate
  8. not fly closer than four kilometres from any aerodrome (unless certain conditions are met)
  9. when flying in controlled airspace, obtain an air traffic control clearance issued by Airways (via airshare My Flights)
  10. not fly in special use airspace without the permission of the controlling authority of the area (e.g. military operating areas or restricted areas)
  11. have consent from anyone you want to fly above
  12. have the consent of the property owner or person in charge of the area you are wanting to fly above.

Then compliance to https://www.aviation.govt.nz/drones/part-102-certification-for-drones/

In addition, practicality of dropping supplies in a designated landing area that is open spaced, does not have powerlines or tree cover, and the time of delivery versus correct individual for pickup.

When we explored rural medicines drop using parachute UAVs, the general feedback was that the farm dogs, followed by cattle, horses, sheep or pigs are likely to chew at the packaging before humans get to it on a busy day.

Unless all the above is managed well, and no bylaws are in place by https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/get-outdoors/drones-unmanned-aerial-vehicles/Pages/code-of-conduct-use-drones-uavs.aspx then getting the Drone programmatically geofenced to the rules means any benefit of ā€˜directā€™ delivery is not managed.

Every major drone delivery operation in the US has shut down because of bylaws, aviation laws and privacy laws. Unless we have some approved approaches at a regulatory level, then drone delivery for health (as well as any other means) is not likely to work.

5 Likes
4

I saw a recent news article that Amazon have started their drone delivery service now:

If Amazon can manage the regulatory hurdles then I can see this taking off for delivery blood, drugs, etc. in healthcare - perhaps using Amazon technology.

There has been a successful drone project in Africa delivering blood for some time:

and

A good use case I think is using drones for delivering defibrillators - such as in this trial in Sweden:

I also think drones could be sent out to the scene of road accidents or disasters to provide video, 3D scanning and communication or medical supplies to help manage the response teams. Presumably you could have less regulation for emergency use of drones where the risks are outweighed by the benefits.

2 Likes
5

@chris.paton thanks for the Amazon articles. I was aware of their earlier downsizing but didnā€™t catch up with their restarted programme. The article still says FAA hasnā€™t formally approved although they indicate they will likely.

Regarding NZ usage, real time control centrally is critical and having been one of the senior analyst for the NZ emergency air desk a few years ago, itā€™s not an easy job coordinating dispatch, ferrying , refueling and maintenance operations while maintaining minimum fight distance between different vehicles.

Emergency use, especially with blood products or defibrillators is definitely something that has been tired and tested with reasonable successes internationally. They are also generally acceptable by public expectations.

The main concern in NZ is that we have a few too many crewed flight operations both by recreational, tourism/chartered and emergency services. When you also have self guiding UAVs of which speed, range and terrain is varied, then critical real time centralised coordination is required, even if regulations are tidied up. Otherwise it will appear as 1km near miss being reported in the media when an air force, police or emergency helicopter who donā€™t follow standard flight paths might intercept a slow flying fixed wing or rotor Wing drone.

6

Kia ora koutou

Iā€™m very interested in being involved in this discussion/work.

We would like to look at how drones could be used to improve the efficiency of transporting medicines (in particular refrigerated meds/vaccines and chemotherapy) from Pōneke to Kāpiti and Wairarapa.

1 Like
7

Iā€™ll be interested to problem solve this issue if we can bring together all the stakeholders who might throw a wrench at something that could be quite revolutionary.

The problem/challenges we need to address arise from legal/regulatory, logistical, liability, security, manned aircraft routes, wildlife flight routes, weather/geography, and social license/privacy considerations, thatā€™s before we even consider a platform(aircraft type - rotor-wing or fixed) or payload (weight, size, protection required in case it dropped from altitude).

Even used for health and emergencies, the Air Ambulances often get complaints from neighbours of the flight operations noise, and plenty of complaints to a local councillor (or in Auckland, the councillor themselves) causes enough political change to shift the air operations.

Getting a package from A to B is affected by legally permitted flight routes, windspeed/weather conditions, payload weight, range, recharge/refuelling time, frequency of flight and maintenance, and obstacle avoidance. Weather events also pose a problem for under what conditions can a flight be safely completed when gusts of wind, different conditions for rain/fog, lightning and pollution/dust events may clog up the mechanics of endurance flight.

Flight paths, flight plans and timings need to be agreed and filed so manned aircraft and the general public are aware of these services. Insurance liabilities need to be addressed if high-value goods are intercepted, lost, hit obstacles en route (bird strike, or a swarm of insects, powerlines, overgrown trees, new high-intensity buildings popping up) , or potentially hacked if someone uses GPS jamming or cyberattacks on the platform. In addition, if malicious actors knew of the payload, they could force an intercept. Take-off and landing sites also need to be maintained, and a timely collection process is managed on arrival, including IoT tracking that delivery was completed to the right person/group, in a state that is expected.

These problems are not insurmountable but you can see why most UAV operations are to deliver to rural settings where the chances of any of the above happening are low and the value of delivery outweighs manned operations. Inter-city delivery has plenty of downsides at this point, especially with noise and unforeseen obstacles.

2 Likes
8

Thanks everyone for your contributions to this thread. Eileen Duddy and I spoke with the project lead for a drone trial on the West Coast of the south island. Sounds like itā€™s had challenges, as new technologies do, in getting up and running. Eileen is going to reach out to the CAA given that drone potential is likely to increase in health and I offered to the West Coast access to one of our Dr/Helicopter pilots, if thatā€™d be useful in CAA discussions for the trial.

Weā€™ll likely check in with the West Coast trial before Christmas, and hopefully have had some positive discussion with CAA by then. Iā€™d like to see if we can find use cases to follow the lead of the West Coast in 2023.

9

This might be of interest:

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/23715-developing-the-aotearoa-new-zealand-aerospace-strategy-pdf

Particularly:

GOAL TWO ā€“ Safely integrate all forms of autonomous aerial vehicles

One of the biggest challenges on the horizon for advanced aviation is how to safely integrate autonomous aerial vehicles into existing aviation systems. These are vehicles with artificial intelligence and on-board sensors that can detect their surroundings and react accordingly. Significant work has already been undertaken to establish New Zealandā€™s leadership in this area, which we will progress further for 2030.

2 Likes
10

Thanks Chris! I note the submissions close today unfortunately, so Iā€™ll reach out just to see if theyā€™ve had a response from anywhere in health.

1 Like
11

Hi again. I reached out to MBIE regarding the consultation underway. Turns out theyā€™re extending the deadline on submissions to the end of this month. Samuel, Richard, Chris, would you like to join Eileen and I on a Zoom next week? Itā€™d be nice to meet you over Zoom and just ensure we have covered the items you think are important. Also to understand the use cases you think health should be exploring for Drones. Eileen is going to check how formal we want to be in our submission i.e. officially a Te Whatu Ora response, or not. Itā€™d be great if we end up with a mini working group to support MBIE in the ongoing strategy development theyā€™re embarking upon.

I have put a time in Eileens diary of 11-12pm next Thursday. Zoom link here: https://aucklanddhb.zoom.us/j/98748590911

3 Likes
12

I can see the potential, blood sample, deliveries from GPā€™s to centralised labs would be an advantage reducing road transportation.
Only problem i see in the wellington area is that the wind would prevent a lot of flights. :grinning:

3 Likes
13

@justin Iā€™ve blocked out my time for 11-12pm next Thursday to attend. Happy to contribute as been a long time interest in making this a possibility.

1 Like
14

Apologies, I was looking for another post & noticed the discussion on drones. Interesting, because I just saw a Brisbane pathology company using drones to move pathology samples from different Moreton Bay islands to their processing facility in southwest Ipswich.

A similiar use case could likely apply for Aucklandā€™s outer islands or in northland to improve equitable care.

15

Sounds good - I will join tomorrow. Cheers, Chris

16

Sorry, latecomer to this discussion. In the Bay of Plenty, we looked into using drones when a slip closed the road between Opotiki and Te Kaha. We talked to someone from Swoop Aero who seemed to have an ideal platform for what we wanted to do. However, as has been mentioned above, the CAA requirements are prohibitive. The existence of a helipad at every hospital basically precludes the use of a drone anywhere near it, at least until the current regulations can be revised. Hopefully the MBIE review will help with that. But itā€™s a fantastic topic and Iā€™m happy to stay tuned in.

3 Likes
17

Thank you Matthew. Resilience and/or emergency response are definitely of interest and weā€™ve shared that, along with a few other opportunities. We didnā€™t do a formal response but said we can pull a group together to discuss with them when the time is right. Theyā€™ve indicated the strategy development process will have room for discussion :+1: Right now we have the pilot* trying to get off the ground* in the West Coast, and I think we should fly* in behind that to support however we can, and take the learnings from them :slight_smile:

*All puns intentionalā€¦

2 Likes
18

Just saw this on Stuff:

4 Likes
19

Thanks for sharing Chris! I probably would have gone with ā€˜lab samplesā€™, but I guess people want to know whatā€™s now flying over head? :sweat_smile:

1 Like
20

Assuming there is an infection risk for transporting blood products this way?
Blood tests are more likely to be required urgently and used in diagnosis than urine and faeces.

Hopefully someone will do a study on blood stability at different altitudes at some point?