Drone transports tissue sample from one Udupi hospital to another during surgery
A medical sample — oncopathological tissue — was transported midsurgery using a drone from Dr. TMA Pai Rotary Hospital in Karkala to Kasturba Hospital in Manipal in Udupi district of Karnataka on Wednesday.
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) joined together in this initiative of an aerial healthcare delivery system using drones.
The initiative aims to utilise drones for transporting oncopathological samples between peripheral and tertiary care hospitals in Karnataka, a release from Kasturba Hospital said.
An ICMR post in ◣ said: “Next milestone achieved in healthcare delivery via drone! Tissue sample transported midsurgery from a periperal hospital to advanced pathological testing at tertiary setting for deciding if the resected issue is cancerous or not.”
37 km in 16 minutes
It said the drone service reduced the travel time between the two towns (Karkala and Manipal) from 60 minutes to 16 minutes.
“Reducing the time from 60 minutes to 16 minutes (37 km), this innovative approach would enable faster decisions during surgery and improved access to highlevel healthcare for patients in peripheral hospitals,” the ICMR posted on ◣.
The release said the primary objective of this initiative is to assess the feasibility of transferring materials, such as frozen section samples from remote locations to peripheral hospitals using aerial means. This endeavour is expected to enhance the healthcare system by enabling surgeons to perform procedures requiring such investigations in rural areas, it said.