WakeMed Hospital is the first hospital in the United States to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) routinely to support and improve hospital operations.
Developed and managed by Swiss company Matternet, the drones transport blood samples between the hospital and labs for analysis. The drone can transport a sample in five minutes for analysis, whereas surface transport takes 25 to 30 minutes.
Paolo Resmini, Matternet’s head of platform and flight safety, said, “Switzerland was a country that declared very early on that they wanted to be a leader in drone innovation. We were able to take that opportunity and work with the [Swiss] regulators to develop a safety concept, functional processes…” that “we could take…to the United States and show U.S. regulators we know what we are doing in the drone space.”
The Matternet drone can transport a 5-lb payload, 12.5 miles in less than 30 minutes. Four electric motors power the drone at a typical cruise speed of 18 mph.