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April 30, 2019 by Steve Hanley
At a one-of-a-kind event, an unmanned aircraft successfully delivered a human kidney to an operating room where it was transplanted to save a person's life. An organ transplant requires rapid transport between the donor and the recipient. The faster the trip, the greater the chances of success.
Credit: Medical Center of the University of Maryland / Medical School of the University of Maryland
The flight took place on April 19, 2019. It was a collaboration between transplant specialists and researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore; aviation and engineering experts from the University of Maryland; the Medical Center of the University of Maryland; and staff of the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland.
"This major advancement in human medicine and transplantation exemplifies two key elements of our mission: innovation and collaboration," said E. Albert Reece, MD and executive vice president for medical affairs at UM Baltimore. "Innovation is at the heart of our efforts to accelerate the pace and reach of discoveries, where research can quickly transform medicine. At the same time, collaboration is the key to our success in providing discovery-based medicines, both in conducting research and providing optimal patient care. "
The use of an unmanned aircraft opens up many opportunities for improving health care outcomes. "Thanks to the exceptional collaboration between surgeons, engineers, the Federal Aviation Administration, organ procurement specialists, pilots, nurses and, ultimately, the patient, we have been able to make an innovative breakthrough in the field of transplantation" said Joseph Scalea, MD. , assistant professor of surgery at UMSOM. He was one of the project leaders and one of the surgeons who performed the transplant.
The many technological innovations of this effort include a device specifically designed to maintain and monitor a viable human organ; a custom built, unmanned aircraft with eight rotors and integrated power train redundancy; the use of a wireless mesh network to control the aircraft and monitor its status; and aircraft operating systems combining best practices derived from unmanned aircraft transport and organ transport standards.
"We needed to create a new system that was still part of the FAA's regulatory structure, but also able to support the extra weight of the organ, cameras, and systems for tracking, communicating and securing organs in a densely populated urban area – for a longer distance and with more endurance, "said Matthew Scassero, a professor at A. James Clark Engineering School. "There is a lot of pressure knowing that a person is waiting for this organ, but it is also a special privilege to be part of this crucial mission."
Prior to this groundbreaking flight, Maryland's partners had collaborated on the development and testing of the unmanned aircraft by successfully transporting saline, blood tubes and other materials. then carrying a healthy but not viable human kidney. The experiences that led to this week's successful flight began in 2016.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the organ transplantation system in the United States, nearly 114,000 people were expecting organ transplants in 2018. About 1.5% of drug shipments were in the United States. organs did not go to the intended destination. and almost 4% had an unplanned delay of two hours or more.
"There remains a deplorable disparity between the number of recipients on the waiting list for an organ transplant and the total number of transplantable organs. This new technology could help expand the donor's organ pool and facilitate access to transplantation, "Scalea said. "Delivering an organ from a donor to a patient is a sacred duty with many moving parts. It is essential that we find ways to do it better.
Unmanned aircraft and operating systems have been designed by engineers at the University of Maryland to meet the stringent medical, technical, and regulatory requirements for transporting a donor organ for human transplantation. "We have increased redundancies, because we want to do everything we can to protect the payload," said Anthony Pucciarella, director of operations at the unmanned aerospace test site at the university. Guarantees included propellers and emergency engines, dual batteries, an emergency power distribution board and a parachute recovery system in the event of an aircraft failure in flight.
Lessons learned from this process will help improve unmanned flight protocols in many other areas. The fact that these planes run on batteries and therefore emit no carbon emissions is a significant advantage.
About the author
Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and wherever the singularity could lead him. His motto is: "Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away!" You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.
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