Researchers/Research Agencies involved
ICMR-Hq, New Delhi: i-DRONE team and Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal
Project Rationale
The study is being conducted to assess the feasibility of utilizing an aerial transportation system (drones) to deliver and receive onco-pathology samples from the secondary level of the health care system to the tertiary level.
Background of the study
Transporting samples from remote areas and using them for intraoperative decision-making hasn’t been carried out and has not been documented in the Indian setting because of the limited data on the feasibility and utility of such an initiative in the Indian scenario. The research will be useful in documenting the procedure required for quick transportation of intra-operative samples. This mechanism of using Drones for transportation will be beneficial to explore the possibility of connecting limited resource settings (peripheral care centres) using UAV technology to enable immediate access to high-end diagnostics at tertiary care centres for diagnosis during surgical procedures.
Outcomes of the Study
The short-term public health implications of the study outcomes will be documentation in the form of standard operating procedures, and guidelines to generate evidence for the efficient use of drones for transportation of frozen sections from peripheral care resource deficit centres to tertiary care resource-rich centres for diagnosis. The long-term public health implications will be useful in establishing a proper mechanism of drone-based service delivery from remote hospitals with laboratory facilities for frozen-section intra-operative diagnosis facilities. This will further enable the staff at centres to carry out complex surgeries in time time-efficient manner. This will address the barrier caused by geographical inaccessibility for patients who may require such surgeries and make them available in peripheral hospitals.
Importance of the study
The understanding from this study will be further used to expand the use of UAVs to deliver medications for Snake bites, Acute Coronary Syndrome, stroke and other laboratory tests used in critical and emergency setups in the future. This proof-of-concept study will pave the way for the development of a mechanism for transferring pathological frozen section samples during surgeries for immediate diagnosis to enhance the efficiency of pathological diagnostics using UAVs.
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