Using drones to transport suspected COVID-19 samples; experiences from the second largest testing centre in Ghana, West Africa

The effects of drone transportation on routine laboratory, immunohematology, flow cytometry and molecular analyses

OBJECTIVES

Transportation of medical samples between laboratories or hospital sites is typically performed by motorized ground transport. Due to the increased traffic congestions in urban environments, drone transportation has become an attractive alternative for fast shipping of samples. In accordance with the CLSI guidelines and the ISO 15189 standard, the impact of this transportation type on sample integrity and performance of laboratory tests must be thoroughly validated.

METHODS

Blood samples from 36 healthy volunteers and bacterial spiked urine samples were subjected to a 20-40 min drone flight before they were analyzed and compared with their counterparts that stayed on the ground. Effects on stability of 30 routine biochemical and hematological parameters, immunohematology tests and flow cytometry and molecular tests were evaluated.

RESULTS

No clinically relevant effects on blood group typing, flow cytometry lymphocyte subset testing and on the stability of the multicopy opacity-associated proteins (Opa) genes in bacterial DNA nor on the number of Abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog 1 (abl) housekeeping genes in human peripheral blood cells were seen. For three of the 30 biochemistry and hematology parameters a statistically significant difference was found: gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and thrombocyte count. A clinically relevant effect however was only seen for potassium and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH).

CONCLUSIONS

Multi-rotor drone transportation can be used for medical sample transportation with no effect on the majority of the tested parameters, including flow cytometry and molecular analyses, with the exception of a limited clinical impact on potassium and LDH.

Unmanned aerial vehicles and pre-hospital emergency medicine

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used in many industrial and commercial roles and have an increasing number of medical applications. This article reviews the characteristics of UAVs and their current applications in pre-hospital emergency medicine. The key roles are transport of equipment and medications and potentially passengers to or from a scene and the use of cameras to observe or communicate with remote scenes. The potential hazards of UAVs both deliberate or accidental are also discussed.