Drones in disaster medicine
12 December 2022
How are unmanned aircraft being used in medical disaster response? Perhaps more importantly, what are the future possibilities of this technology in this application? We reviewed three articles to answer these questions. Some exciting Canadian research, a real-life success story, and lots of questions about how this will advance our ability to respond to disasters.
Daud, Sharifah Mastura Syed Mohd, et al. "Applications of drone in disaster management: A scoping review." Science & Justice 62.1 (2022): 30-42.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2021.11.002
Flemons, Kristin, et al. "The use of drones for the delivery of diagnostic test kits and medical supplies to remote First Nations communities during COVID-19." American journal of infection control 50.8 (2022): 849-856.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.03.004
Zhang, You, et al. "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Interhospital Transport of Critically Ill Cardiovascular Patients under Extreme Weather Conditions." Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 37.2 (2022): 294-296.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X22000267
OTHER RESOURCES
A previous journal club on drones in disaster medicine:
https://www.ceep.ca/post/drones-and-disaster-medicine
Cost effectiveness analysis from website Unmanned Airspace:
https://www.unmannedairspace.info/commentary/comparing-the-cost-effectiveness-of-drones-v-ground-vehicles-for-medical-food-and-parcel-deliveries/
Commentary and other resources on hospital evacuation:
https://www.ceep.ca/post/hospital-evacuation