Summary Reader Response: Feedback Updated
The article titled "Drones May
Become ‘The Next Big Thing’ In Healthcare Delivery," written by
Balasubramanian (2021), discusses the use and benefits of drones in the
healthcare industry. The purpose of this technology was first envisioned for
use in the aerial and military industry. However, with developing innovations,
drones have been integrated into the healthcare industry. It is implied by
Balasubramanian (2021) that the compact design and efficient maneuverability of
emergency healthcare drone supplies an opportunity to expand care to
hard-to-reach patients, potentially resolving significant access to care
issues. As an example, the use of drones enables faster delivery of emergency
medical supplies such as automated external defibrillators in critical
situations to patients experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (2021).
It is also discussed by
Balasubramanian (2021) that with the widespread use of drones in multiple
industries, large corporations such as Amazon and Google have invested in their
research and development. This will allow more applications of drone technology
in multiple industries causing it to be mainstream in supply-chain and logistic
needs, which will eventually lower the cost of drones. The author also says
that this will ease the use and development of drones within the healthcare
industry. Therefore, it is likely that drones could significantly change the
healthcare industry, specifically in terms of improving the transport of
healthcare provisions.
The features and capabilities of
drones show huge promise in revolutionising the healthcare industry. The usage
of healthcare drones enables the efficient delivery of medical supplies to
hard-to-access areas and the cost of using drones is proving to be affordable,
though there is (design) limitation due to its battery limit.
The usage of unmanned aircraft systems
(UAS) in healthcare enables efficient delivery of medical supplies to
hard-to-access areas. According to Knight (n.d.), the usage of UAS to deliver
medical supplies in Rwanda is proving to be a game changer. In her article, she
interviews Frédérique Tissandier, a spokesperson for Global Alliance for
Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and Mozammil Siddiqui, manager of global
operations partnerships of GAVI, where they discuss the applications of
healthcare drones in Rwanda. Upon interviewing Tissandier, Knight found that
accessing isolated areas in Rwanda is difficult as certain areas can only be
travelled by boat. Therefore, delivery of supplies in these areas takes a
considerable amount of time. However, the capabilities of drones, speeds up the
delivery of vaccines and blood to people living in said remote areas. Relating
to this, Knight quotes Siddiqui, “If a child in Rwanda is bitten by a rabid
animal, for example, instead of waiting hours to get the necessary vaccine, UAS
can deliver it in about 15 minutes.” Furthermore, according to Blau (2017), drones
hasten the delivery of supplies such as blood units to remote clinics within 15
minutes as compared to hours when transported by cars. Therefore, the use of
drones in healthcare not only allows efficient delivery of medical supplies but
also plays a significant role in preventing loss of life.
In addition to this, healthcare drones
are proving to be affordable in terms of their deployability. An analysis
conducted by Tavares (2019), investigates the cost-effectiveness of delivery of
biomedical samples in a comparison between an electric powered van (E-van) and
drones. For delivery of samples weighing 30kg, using 5 utility E-van travelling
6.3km per site, it was calculated that the total duration would take 42 minutes
and cost 4.59 Euros per delivery. However, with drones, it takes a third of the
time taken and costs 1.92 Euros. This shows that using drones is more efficient
and cost-effective. A separate study conducts reviews a similar comparison
between motorcycles and drones transporting medical specimens from isolated
clinics to central laboratory hubs in Liberia (Amukele, 2020). It was found
that per-sample transport costs, longer-range drones needed low transport cost
due to the effective geographical coverage. Using long-range drones was
significantly better than using short-range drones, as the cost of operation
using long-range drones rivaled that of motorcycles.
Despite this, healthcare drones do
have drawbacks in their design. Estévez (2020) states that one of the
fundamental issues with drones is their short battery life. A drone's battery
life is important as it affects its operational capability. The challenge in
extending battery life is the need to balance the weight of the drone and its
batteries with the payload capacity. The efficiency of a drone's power system
and techniques used to manage its power consumption affects battery lives.
Additionally, lithium-ion batteries used in drone technology are not perfect as
they are prone to exploding when the batteries short-circuit and overheat
(Grepow, 2019). Hence, more research and development are still needed to
increase the ability and efficiency of batteries used in drones and to stability.
In conclusion, the usage of healthcare
drones is proving to be beneficial in the healthcare industry in terms of
efficiency and cost. With the use of drones, people in remote areas can receive
on time delivery of medical supplies, especially in emergency situations where
they can receive vaccines and blood units within minutes. Furthermore, the cost
of drones is also proving to be economically practical. However, there is still
room for improvement in further development in its power source design. Healthcare
drones could be revolutionary in healthcare. With further research and
development, drones could be implemented as a mainstream in transporting
medical supplies in the healthcare industry.
Amukele, T. (2020). The economics of
medical drones. The Lancet Global Health, 8(1), e22. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(19)30494-2/fulltext#back-bib4
Balasubramaniam, S. (2022, May 4).
Drones may become ‘the next big thing’ in healthcare delivery. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/saibala/2022/01/09/drones-may-become-the-next-big-thing-in-healthcare-delivery/?sh=71bed6081e9b
Blau, M. (2017, June 13). 6 ways
drones could change healthcare. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-ways-drones-could-change-health-care/
Estévez, J. (2020, September 9). The
limitations of drones for medicine delivery. Mapping Ignorance.
https://mappingignorance.org/2020/09/09/the-limitations-of-drones-for-medicine-delivery/#reference-7181-2
Grepow. (2019, December 4). Technology
for future improvements in lithium-ion drone battery.
Grepow Rechargeable Battery. https://www.grepow.com/blog/technology-for-future-improvements-in-lithium-ion-drone-battery.html
Knight, R. (n.d.). Drones deliver
healthcare.https://www.dronesinhealthcare.com/
Reynolds, J. (2022, January 19). What
is the role of a medical drone in healthcare? Iris Automation.
https://www.irisonboard.com/medical-drones-in-healthcare/
Tavares, T. (2019, November 13).
Comparing the cost-effectiveness of drones v ground vehicles for medical, food and parcel deliveries. Unmanned
airspace. https://www.unmannedairspace.info/commentary/comparing-the-cost-effectiveness-of-drones-v-ground-vehicles-for-medical-food-and-parcel-deliveries/
I appreciate the extra effort made with this revision.
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