Drones carry test kits to remote communities
Remotely piloted drones operated through a joint research project are delivering medical equipment and COVID-19 test kits to remote areas of the province, connecting those communities to labs more efficiently.
Researchers from the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) teamed up with Alberta Health Services, Alberta Precision Laboratories and the Stoney Nakoda Nations to link remote communities to necessary health services through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS).
“Many remote communities in Canada do not have easy access to testing centres and medical supplies to support rapid testing and containment. Drones can help us respond to that need,” said Dr. John Conly, medical director of the W21C Research and Innovation Centre at the Cumming School of Medicine and co-principal investigator on the project.
The idea of drone delivery of medical supplies to remote Alberta locations came up before the pandemic was top of mind, in November 2019, when Conly and Wade Hawkins, the lead researcher at SAIT'S Centre for Innovation and Research in Unmanned Systems, met at a medical conference.
They didn't know how relevant their idea would become only a few months later, when COVID-19 spread to Alberta and rapid testing became an integral part of the province's response to contain the virus. They quickly put their research into motion.
Right now, a third-party service carries the samples from these remote communities to Alberta's labs for the test to be completed and a result to be relayed to the patient. Some rural areas have used “hot shot” priority courier services.
Hawkins and Conly are hoping that drones could be a way to supplement those services.
Stoney Nakoda Nation has three remote locations in Alberta that are not easily accessed by traditional means so the nation partnered with the research team.
Ryan Robb, Stoney Tribal Administration CEO, said the Morley reserve has many points of access but the satellite reserves in Eden Valley and Big Horn are more remote and a drone system could play a “critical role in the health and safety” of the communities.
“Like many remote Canadian communities, weather can play a key role, for example depending on the time of the year, ice roads and floods can create access barriers,” said Robb.
A successful test run was conducted on June 25 to the Morley reserve using SAIT'S unmanned Swissdrones SDO 50 V2 helicopter.
The drone can carry up to 45 kilograms and the load had personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits.
The test run proved the samples could survive the return to the lab with no degrading of the specimen which, Conly said, would open many doors to emergency medical response.
Dr. Byron Berenger, medical microbiologist with APL, explained that they still need to look into options for securing the package on its return in case any of the samples are infectious. This is the kind of thing that is regulated by Transport Canada.
Transalta Corp. is one of the research's main supporters, since the company employs many people who work in remote areas and could use drone delivery in emergency situations.
Dr. Andrew Kirkpatrick, a trauma surgeon at Foothills Medical Centre and professor, used the drone to deliver a portable ultrasound unit, so the possible medical benefits with this kind of technology are vast.
“With (the ultrasound unit), and access to a smartphone, with connectivity, a person can be guided remotely by an expert medical professional to perform an ultrasound on themselves or to have someone at the scene perform it on them,” said Kirkpatrick.
There are more trial runs scheduled to Eden Valley and Big Horn reserves to continue testing.