In a landmark first for the NHS in London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with companies Apian, and Wing, for a medical drone delivery service for its urgent blood samples.
The trial will deliver blood samples for patients undergoing surgery who are at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders.
This six-month operation is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, which has granted the airspace approval and the pilot is expected to start in autumn 2024.
Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future of Flight, UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Innovative trials like this from Guy’s and St Thomas’, Apian and Wing help demonstrate the many positive and safe ways that drones can be used for society - in this case, to improve patient outcomes and deliver significant environmental benefits. This is one of the many reasons that we are working with companies through our sandbox trials programme, to enable the test and development of pioneering new aviation technology in the UK.”
The trial will deliver blood samples for patients undergoing surgery who are at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders
Apian is a medical drone delivery company founded in 2020 by NHS doctors Christopher Law and Hammad Jeilani, and ex-Google Health entrepreneur Alexander Trewby.
Apian's mission is to create a medical drone network that enhances healthcare logistics, especially for the NHS.
The company aims to speed up the transportation of critical medical supplies like blood samples, medicines, and lab results by leveraging drones.
Wing is a drone delivery company that is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company. Wing focuses on developing and operating autonomous drones designed to deliver small packages quickly and efficiently.
Moving samples between Guy’s Hospital and the lab at St Thomas’ Hospital can take more than half an hour by road, but takes less than two minutes by drone
These drones are fully electric, and the goal is to make deliveries faster, safer, and more sustainable compared to traditional road-based methods.
Wing's drones are designed to carry lightweight packages (up to about 1 kg) and can fly autonomously on pre-programmed routes at speeds of around 100 km/h.
Apian, and Wing have previously partnered on medical drone delivery in Dublin, Ireland, and Apian has trialled medical drone deliveries in rural areas of the UK.
For Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, urgent blood samples will be transported by electric drones in a medical delivery service that aims to improve patient care by speeding up turnaround times.
Lightweight commercial drones can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 99% compared to non-electric cars and reduce transportation electricity needed compared to electric delivery vans
Moving samples between Guy’s Hospital and the lab at St Thomas’ Hospital can take more than half an hour by road, but takes less than two minutes by drone.
Blood samples are currently delivered by van and motorbike couriers. Switching to drone deliveries will have significant environmental benefits by removing carbon emissions and reducing traffic congestion.
Lightweight commercial drones can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 99% compared to non-electric cars and reduce transportation electricity needed compared to electric delivery vans.
This enables quicker analysis, helping to efficiently determine whether patients are safe to undergo surgery or be discharged.
Professor Ian Abbs, Chief Executive at Guy's and St Thomas', said: “The drone pilot combines two of our key priorities - providing the best possible patient care and improving sustainability. We are proud to be the first Trust in London to trial this innovative approach to help speed up blood sample analysis for our most urgent cases.”