Drone Logistics For Rapid Specimen Delivery And Testing

In a major advance for medical delivery systems in the UK, Solent Transport partnered with Versapak International and the University of Southampton to develop an insulated carrier designed for drone transport of pathology specimens. The carrier gained Air Transport Certification and is approved for routine delivery via drone within the UK National Health Service.

The project was carried out as part of Solent Transport’s Drones for Medical Logistics initiative funded under the Solent Future Transport Zone.

The carrier was put through rigorous testing to meet the ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization’s Packing Instruction 650 (PI650) requirements that apply to biological substances. Compliance with this specification is required to safely move pathology specimens by air.

Why is this important? Getting pathology specimens from remote or island communities to labs rapidly can be challenging. Transporting such samples by drone can reduce transit times, which improves sample integrity, and favors faster diagnoses and treatments.

The carrier was developed by Versapak International in collaboration with researchers at the University of Southampton, and it was designed around Versapak’s already proven model and adapting it for drone use.

The carrier was tested two ways: stacking a three-meter column of carriers on top of the test unit, and dropping the carrier from a height of 1.2 meters in different orientations. In neither case was any leakage of test sample observed. The tests are in alignment with PI650 requirements for biological cargo and the certification confirms the carrier is suitable for transport of biological substances under the UN’s dangerous goods framework.

Tim Forrester, Future Transport Zone Program Manager for Solent Transport said, “As the primary supplier to the NHS, Versapak International was the natural partner to help redesign and certify a carrier fit for drone delivery.”

FMI:  solent-transport.com/ , dronelife.com/