Multi drone operating system FlightOps OS Used to Deliver Medical Lab Tests by Drone

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M Crosby

Last week, leading provider of multi-drone operating system FlightOps employed its software for the delivery of medical laboratory tests via drones, which maintained the quality of the transported samples while traveling between hospitals.

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This operation was carried out as part of a project by the Israeli Innovation Authority and Ministry of Transport seeking to promote the use of drones for public benefit. A variety of different medical tests, such as blood counts, urine tests and coagulation tests, were transported roughly 9.7 miles between Hillel Yaffe Medical Center and Sha’ar Menashe Mental Health Center.

“Laboratory samples are often transferred between medical centers, typically by automobile. This presents the risk of travel time delaying decisions on the right treatment for patients,” said Dr. Maanit Shapira, director of the laboratory division at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. “When scaled for routine use, the delivery of samples via drone will help speed up the flow of critical information for both the patients and the medical teams.”

With authorization from the Institutional Helsinki Committee, the experiment used two samples from each of the 30 volunteers at the Scha’ar Menashe Mental Health Center. One of each pair of samples was delivered with a traditional motor vehicle, with the other stored within an insulated package and locked into a designated container. This container, weighing 2.2 lbs., was then secured to a drone before being delivered to the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center.

Following their delivery, both sets of samples were analyzed to measure the effects the drone delivery had had on the laboratory tests. Both sets were found to have similar results, confirming that the quality of the samples had not been compromised during flight.

“Using the FlightOps OS, drone providers can fly more missions over longer distances with increased safety and reduced costs,” said FlightOps CEO Shay Levy. “Our technology will enable the vision of drone deliveries as a preferred last-mile solution. Medical decisions should not be impacted by transportation and logistics, and we are proud to be involved with the Israeli Innovation Authority’s project to send lab and medical tests via drone delivery. We hope drone deliveries will lead to better medical outcomes and help save lives.”

Through the power of its advanced autonomy and cloud connectivity, the FlightOps beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), multi-drone OS provides any drone operation with scalability. The OS enables drone service providers to scale their operations and fly multiple drones in shared airspace worldwide.

Last month, FlightOps announced a major commercial agreement with drone services provider DroneUp, which offers last-mile delivery solutions for Walmart. Walmart recently revealed its plan to expand its DroneUp delivery network to 34 sites by the end of 2022, which would enable it to reach four million households throughout six states.

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.