For the first time in Europe, a drone was tasked with transporting a sample for biological analysis from one hospital to another.
On August 23, a drone made its first flight in Europe, for an experimental journey of 800 meters in four minutes, which made it possible to transport a tube containing a vial in which was a tissue to be analyzed to find out if it was cancerous . The sample traveled between two hospitals in the city of Antwerp, Belgium, and three other flights followed it during the same day. Built by the Belgian company SABCA, the drone was piloted by the Flemish company Hélicos, the only one in Europe to hold authorizations for this type of flight.
Drones would make transporting samples twice as fast as by car, which is vital for samples taken during surgeries that need to be analyzed urgently.
To deal with medical emergencies, drones present an effective solution, which could become widespread in the future. In France, the start-up Hdrones began testing, in the spring of 2022, drones that allow residents of rural areas to benefit from drug deliveries from the pharmacy in Toulenne, a town in southwestern France. Unlike Helicopter flights, HDrone flights are only possible in rural areas, urban flight being prohibited for the moment. European regulations should change by 2024, in particular to allow the flight of drones for medical emergencies. In the case of helicopter flights, an extension of experiments for the transport of blood and organs is under study.