Wing is operated by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. It has partnered with Apian, a U.K.-based healthcare and logistics company, to deliver certain Medtronic items to healthcare providers. The two companies are teaming up with Blackrock Health and St. Vincent’s Private Hospital in Dublin to launch a drone delivery trial to demonstrate how drones can be used in healthcare, reports Ireland’s National Public Service Media, RTÉ.
Medtronic devices to be delivered through drones include an ingestible camera, sutures, surgical tools, and heart valve repair products. In the future, it plans to expand to pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators.
Earlier this year, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposed a plan for medical supply delivery through drone operations. These proposals are part of the U.K. Future Flight Programme and seek to expand drone capabilities by permitting operations beyond remote pilots’ visual line of sight (BVLOS).
The drone pilot in Ireland will start to fly medical supplies to Dublin’s Blackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic and St. Vincent’s Private Hospital in coming days with up to 100 weekly flights. They are also working with the Irish Aviation Authority to ensure the drone operations are up to regulation, RTÉ reports.
“We’re excited to announce a new pilot program in Ireland that will help make delivery of medical devices more efficient in future,” Medtronic said in a post on LinkedIn. “We can get essential equipment to patients faster and more reliably via air, solving some of the supply chain issues experienced when delivering by road.”
Past use of drones in medical supply delivery
Companies in the U.S. have received authorization from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to deliver medical supplies using a drone. The U.S. authorizes drone deliveries through FAA 135 air carrier certifications. Flying routes under the certification can reach up to 26 miles roundtrip.
San Francisco-based Zipline was authorized in June 2022 to complete the longest-range on-demand commercial drone deliveries in the U.S. The certification allowed the company to expand service in the U.S. with partners like Novant Health, Cardinal Health and more.
Cardinal Health partnered with Zipline to deliver pharmaceutical products and medical supplies in North Carolina. The company said in June 2022 after the first deliveries that the flights would make it easier for patients to access the products they needed.
Related: How Zipline delivers medical products by drone in the U.S.
