Transporting medicines by drones in hilly terrain of Northern Himalayas in India.

Abstract

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); <i>p</i> = 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.