ISSN: 2578-5079
Authors: Fakhar-I-Adil M , Qureshi AS* , Arshad H , Khan AA and Deeba F
Use of drones like technology is dated back to the 200 BC, when a bird-shaped artifact named The Egyptian Saqqara bird was developed, which had the wingspan of 180 mm and a length of 150mm. As the time goes by, that old era idea is progressively developed into currently present highlyefficient drone technology which is serving various functions.Its application is rangedfrom various military purposes to the many crucial civilian applications such as weather monitoring and aerial medical supply.In underdeveloped and developing countries, the availability of roads is crucial for medical supplies such as medicines and vaccines. Air transportation, such as helicopter is much costly and not affordable. The success story of drones around environmental sciences and ecology make us realize that they can be employed in the field of public health as a consumable medical carrier. A significant strength of drones’ utility is its ability to reduce the travel time behind diagnosis and treatment. Drones considered to be a cost-efficient substitute for road transport in hard to reach areas. They can also be used for the transportation of blood from the blood bank to the site of its need, and specimens from the areas with difficult accessibility to laboratories in nearby cities. Medical drones can transport essential drugs such as anti-venom and post-exposure vaccines for dog bite and snake bites and avoid causalities.Various disaster management and relief operations can be assisted by drones to rescue the victims and the delivery of essential consumables.Similarly, biomedical drones reduce the time for organ transportation from the site of its harvest to the location of transplantation.Drones equipped with AED can provide visual feedback and help a bystander in cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the cardiac arrest patient.The role of drones in pandemic like COVID-19 is being evaluated, and studies are going on to provide maximum facilities with minimum time and chances of spreading infection. However, the usage of drones needs skilled staff and proper infrastructure. People who are residing in the areas of previous military drone attacks having a fear of drones and suffering from various mental disorders. Medical drones may be mistakenly considered as military drones, hence can be attacked by armed forces. Moreover, being an emerging technology, various laws and regulations are being evolved and are still in developmental phase.
Keywords: Medical Drones; Unmanned Vehicle; Public Health; Drones
Chat with us on WhatsApp
