Drones being developed to deliver medical aid, not bombs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Unmanned aerial vehicles could one day be used to help deliver medical aid and other necessities to needy individuals in hard-to-reach areas.

Compact aerial drones have not been widely used by American physicians and other medical providers, partly because the new technologies remain taboo and regulations have not caught up to them. But some doctors say drones could become a cost-effective way to care for patients miles away from them.

Dr. Jeremy Tucker, an emergency physician at MedStar St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, Maryland, believes drones could be safely used to deliver compact items such as vaccines, pills and even water to the seriously ill in remote areas.

"The earliest health applications for drones will be for disaster relief," Tucker told Reuters Health. "The benefit of delivering care via drone is that you don't need a landing zone. You can deliver supplies right to the people who need them."

Tucker, who has never piloted a drone, said using them to help fight the spread of infectious diseases could help familiarize doctors and older patients with them.

"People are all worried about Ebola right now; you could fly in medications, supplies right to the areas needed," he added. "What I envision in the future: someone in charge of disaster relief could summon a mobile clinic, and basically with the push of a button, have mobile drones dropping off supplies, like tents and water."