Medical drone tests begin in Noida
The tests will investigate the feasibility of delivering blood products by drone, and will run for half a year
India’s Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Noida is trialing the delivery of blood products via drone, following approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi.
The trials, which will run for a period of six months, are being run by GIMS and ICMR in partnership with the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi, and the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT).
Speaking to the Times of India, GIMS Director Professor Rakesh Gupta said: “During the study, LHMC and GIMS will supply the blood bags and conduct the tests, while JIIT will act as the implementation centre for drone sorties.”
As part of the trials, the partner institutes will conduct a study on the quality of blood delivered by the drones compared with more conventional modes of transportation. This will include validating the quality of red blood cells, plasma and platelets used during the study.
Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recently ordered a fleet of drones from Sagar Defence Engineering.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.