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Every second counts in organ transplants. But donated organs are not always immediately accessible where the patient is and must be delivered from other places. This is where drones come in.
A new study by the University of Maryland Medical System shows that a drone can be used to successfully administer human organs in no time. The study was published in the November issue of IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine.
The authors of the study found a human kidney that was unsuitable for a transplant and was therefore designated for research. They put the kidney in a special container and included a device to monitor temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, vibration and location. This container was attached to a DJI Matrix 600 Pro, a commercially available drone that everyone can buy (for $ 5,000).
Once in place, the researchers conducted several flight tests of the drone-kidney combo. The drone reached a top speed of 42 mph and the longest trip lasted 3 miles.
The researchers would do kidney biopsies before and after to see how he would behave. Throughout its course, the kidney maintained a safe temperature and showed no signs of structural change. The researchers concluded that flying by drone did not affect the results of the biopsy. The study even showed that the kidney suffered less vibration than it would have had when traveling with a plane.
This was only one study and the kidney was not used for a transplant. But the results have been positive, showing that the transport of human organs via a drone could be a viable option in the future.
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