DRONES – ONCE more commonly known for capturing spectacular bird ’ s-eye footage , roving into restricted airspace or making every Amazon deliveryman redundant ( eventually ) – are undergoing a noble rebrand . Unmanned aerial systems ( UAS ) are at the sharp end of a healthcare revolution .
Already , drones are saving countless lives – delivering medical supplies to areas that desperately need them , but are virtually inaccessible . In October 2016 , Silicon Valley-based robotics company , Zipline , launched the world ’ s first national drone delivery operation in Rwanda . With 15 drones flying out of a single distribution centre , the government-backed initiative has seen blood , plasma and platelets whizzed to 21 hospitals throughout what is the most densely populated nation in mainland Africa .
To date , this has translated to more than 300,000 air miles , delivering 7,000 units of blood over 4,000 flights ; a third of these being urgent , life-saving incidents . The gratifying upshot : Zipline ’ s superfast service now provides more than a fifth of
Rwanda ’ s blood supply outside of its capital , ensuring hospitals never run dry of blood . This has boosted use of certain products by 175 %, reducing waste or spoilage ( a major problem , due to the strict temperature requirements of blood transportation ) by a near-perfect 95 %.
“ Billions of people on earth lack access to critical medicine ,” says Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo .
52 May 2018