Bhubaneswar: In a bid to ensure health care services in cut-off areas during emergencies, the AIIMS-Bhubaneswar has planned to use drone technology in the healthcare sector in the State.
The premier health institute today conducted the trial run of drone transporting blood to a nearby hospital in Khurdha.
“Blood transportation will be done through drone in emergency. Today, we transported blood to Tangi hospital using a drone. We conducted the successful trial run of drone services for the first time in the State,” AIIMS-Bhubaneswar executive director Dr Ashutosh Viswas said.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched a movement to add drone services in the healthcare sector all over India. The drone will be used during the time of disasters like cyclones, flood and other emergency times. People residing in cut-off areas during flood can get the medical services through drone, he added.
The drone will carry emergency medicines, blood, and medical equipment during natural calamities.
During the first experiment, the drone today covered 70 km in 35 minutes. It took off from AIIMS- Bhubaneswar at 12 pm and reached Tangi CHC at 12.35 pm. After delivering the blood unit, it came back with blood samples from the CHC to AIIMS.
The central health institute will also conduct another trial later on a larger scale, officials said.
