Drones
Drones are aircraft that don’t have a pilot and are operated remotely, they are some of the best technological advancements in the 21st century, there have been many applications of drones notably Geo-mapping through the filming of aerial views, this is cheaper in comparison to the traditional use of airplanes which was much expensive. Drones can be very instrumental in the health sector; they can ensure that health facilities are accessible everywhere in the world. Some of the areas where drones can be applied like Transportation of medicines, Natural disaster relief, telemedicine, and also as transfer units.
Drones can be important in transporting crucial supplies to any part of the world since they contain a Global Positioning Unit (GPS). They can deliver supplies such as Vaccines especially in remote areas where healthcare is not possible, Serum can also be delivered when bitten by a snake instead of rushing someone to hospital drones can be a cheaper alternative, the serum can be transported together with instructions on how to administer it. Blood can also be transported from one hospital to another whenever there is a need. A drone can bypass traffic jams hence saving time, a drone is better than a helicopter due to fuel consumption.
Drones can be crucial in helping whenever there are Natural disasters. They can be used to provide the needed assistance promptly by delivering medical supplies. Drones can be used to give a prior warning to people before disasters like earthquakes, floods, tsunami, and Tornados. If drones are fitted with the necessary censors the can be able to analyze an impending calamity and send back information on the calamity to the local authorities, the authorizes can then alert the people in danger. Micro-radar systems are some of the examples that can be installed in drones, an example is the miniSAR which is small and light, it can be used to analyze cloud composition and determine if there is an impending tornado.
Drones can also be used as a transfer unit, some organizations such as WeRobotics are researching as to whether drones can transfer biological samples including blood derivatives and other specimens to laboratories where they are analyzed and sent back. Research has proven that the transfer of specimens does not affect the results. This is an area that can greatly help the rural areas that lack medical laboratories.
Drones can be used in telemedicine. Some organizations are researching so that they can develop drones that can diagnose a patient remotely. A drone that is fitted with sensors that can identify the patient’s blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, and ultrasound. This can help to diagnose patience remotely and determine the assistance needed this gives an edge since treatment will be administered without the need of diagnosing a patient when they get to a hospital.
Drones are the future, and the future is here. More research is needed to ensure that drones function smartly to perform their functions meticulously. The is a lot of promising hope that in the future there shall be an improvement in health care delivery
References
Rivas H. 2018 Digital Health Scaling Healthcare to the world
Yadav V. 2019 Humanitarian Impact of Drones in Healthcare and Disaster Management International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE), Volume-7 Issue-5, pp 201-204
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330753358_Humanitarian_Impact_of_Drones_in_Healthcare_and_Disaster_Management
Rosser C. 2018 Surgical and Medical Applications of Drones: A Comprehensive Review JSLS: Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons / Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons 22(3):e2018.00018 pp 1-9
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328480646_Surgical_and_Medical_Applications_of_Drones_A_Comprehensive_Review