London hospitals, stuck as they are in the city's medieval labyrinth of streets, are testing drones to quickly courier blood samples from one to another.
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is launching a medical drone delivery service in central London to transport urgent blood samples between Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital. The project is a collaboration between the NHS, Wing (an Alphabet subsidiary), and Apian, a healthcare logistics startup founded by former NHS doctors. The service aims to significantly reduce delivery times for critical blood samples, benefiting patients at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders during surgery.
Here's the announcement from Wing.
Flying between two hospital rooftops with a cruising speed of about 100 km/h and a flight time of less than two minutes, our drones will zip by quickly and blend in with city sounds. While it won't appear all that much is happening from the ground level, Wing drones will be improving the experience for caregivers and patients inside the hospitals.
This operation is regulated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority which has granted the airspace approval. We will conclude all final regulatory requirements in advance of operations later this fall.
I can't help but sit and think about being the NHS procurement consultant who had the pleasure of making this connection. Good morning. Is this Wing? Yes, how can I h— I see here that you're "the future of grocery delivery." Yes! Absolutely, our drones have unpara— What's the largest volume of human blood one of them can transport?
Just think of all the other biological liquids that might be thusly transported! Just think of the magical misfortunes to be had.