This step forward by the Project CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland), initiative, led by AGS Airports in partnership with NHS Scotland, was part of a three-week flight trial between NHS Lothian and NHS Borders. The specimens were transported on live flights between the Edinburgh BioQuarter next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Borders General Hospital in Melrose.
Currently, laboratory samples which inform urgent clinical decision-making are transported by road and can take up to five hours between NHS Borders and NHS Lothian. Project CAELUS aims to reduce the time taken for delivery to 35 minutes.
Project CAELUS is working with 16 consortium partners to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities.
Fiona Smith, project director for Project CAELUS, said: “Our consortium has been working extremely hard to get to this stage and we are delighted we have been able to test this important use case for the NHS.
“Transporting laboratory specimens by drone could speed up the clinical decision-making, allowing same-day diagnosis and treatment.
“It is also one of the first times in the UK that there has been a demonstration of beyond the visual line of sight medical drone operations transiting between controlled and uncontrolled airspace.”
CAELUS is part funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge. It brings together 16 partners including the University of Strathclyde, Skyports Drone Services, NATS and NHS Scotland.
In the latest live flight trials, tests were also carried out on how NHS staff in future would engage with the drone both physically and digitally.
