2024-11-14 20:04:00
Currently, there are two pain points when transporting medical supplies: slow response to urgent medical needs and unbalanced distribution of medical resources.
According to statistics, three people in the world need a blood transfusion every second. In China, more than 6 million patients require blood transfusions every year. Traditional blood transport requires traffic and usually takes a long time. In addition, medical resources are unequally distributed between urban and rural areas, making it difficult for patients from rural areas to receive treatment in urban hospitals, especially those with mobility limitations. For example, residents of Hongtong Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province had to spend several hours getting medical examinations at the Yuhang District Second People’s Hospital.
A third-tier hospital in Zhejiang has therefore collaborated with Hangzhou Antwork Network Technology Co. to transport blood using drones. Through numerous tests, inspections and test flights, they have gained extensive experience and successfully established an air transport channel for blood. UAVs are flexible, fast, autonomous and independent of road conditions, which underlines their great importance in the field of medical emergencies. The three parties’ success marks the first regular UAV route for emergency blood delivery in China. Currently, Hangzhou has established multiple blood delivery routes, creating the world’s first city-level regular blood delivery system.
In order to combine the flexible and efficient advantages of UAVs with medical services, China Telecom has proposed the world’s first super air-ground convergence technology.
- Integrated smart air-to-ground beamforming technology is used to support integrated beam coordination and ground-to-air coverage to achieve low-altitude 3.5GHz coverage in urban areas.
- New smart wide-angle antennas that support power distribution are used to realize low-altitude coverage in suburbs based on the wide coverage of the 2.1 GHz bandwidth.
The world’s first super air-ground convergence technology was unveiled at MWC Shanghai 2024. This technology forms an efficient private ground-to-air network that enables continuous coverage at low altitudes.
In addition, sensor application services (AS), sensor functions (SF) and base station sensors form a high-precision medical sensor network. The network supports functions such as complex trajectory analysis of UAVs, geo-fence and multi-object detection with an accuracy of up to one meter, and accompanies airborne medical channels in real time.
Using these innovative technologies and devices, the low-altitude network features high bandwidth and low latency to meet the 4K HD video backhaul requirements of UAVs. The delivery of medical supplies with UAVs is fast, flexible and is not affected by ground traffic or weather conditions (wind force 5). Transport efficiency has been improved by 60%, allowing immediate response to urgent blood supply requests 24/7. The actual flight data shows that the blood volume delivered per flight can meet the emergency needs of one or two patients, while the transportation time per flight is only half of the ground transportation under the same conditions, ensuring both “emergency blood consumption” and “planned blood replenishment”. is.
With these technologies, more city-to-city drone highways have also been established, bridging the central hospital of the medical consortium and the grassroots health centers, greatly supporting the implementation of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system. For example, a patient can provide a blood sample at a community hospital, which is then delivered to the detection center using the drone. The detection result will be available within 12 minutes. This will greatly improve the efficiency of medical treatments for the public.
According to Antwork, its UAV logistics planning system has been fully integrated into the snarte medical platform of several large third-tier hospitals in Zhejiang. This integration not only forms a closed loop of services, but also provides technical security for blood transport, making it one of the most advanced medical practices with UAVs in the world.
The collaboration between China Telecom, Antwork and the hospital is a historic milestone as it signals the recognition of drone technology in clinical healthcare. The dedicated UAV route will provide more safety for emergency rescue and save more patient lives. The provision of medical resources using UAVs is becoming increasingly important in the healthcare industry.
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What are the main challenges Dr. Li Zhang identifies regarding medical supply transportation in Zhejiang Province?
**Interview with Dr. Li Zhang, Director of Ad Hoc Medical Logistics, Zhejiang Province**
**Editor:** Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Zhang. We’ve seen significant advancements in medical supply transportation using UAVs, particularly in Zhejiang Province. Can you explain the primary challenges these systems aim to address?
**Dr. Zhang:** Thank you for having me. The key challenges we face include the slow response time to urgent medical needs and the inequitable distribution of medical resources, especially between urban centers and rural areas. For instance, many patients from rural regions spend several hours traveling to urban hospitals for essential treatments like blood transfusions.
**Editor:** That’s quite concerning. You’ve mentioned the collaboration with Hangzhou Antwork Network Technology Co. What were the driving factors behind this partnership?
**Dr. Zhang:** The main goal was to leverage UAV technology to create a more efficient blood delivery system. We conducted numerous tests and flights to ensure operational reliability. Our partnership has led to the establishment of the first regular UAV route for emergency blood delivery in China, greatly improving response times and accessibility.
**Editor:** This is groundbreaking! Can you tell us about the impact this has had on patient care?
**Dr. Zhang:** Definitely. With these drones, we can deliver blood supplies much faster—efficiency has improved by about 60%. This rapid response can be life-saving for patients in need of urgent transfusions and significantly eases the burden on rural patients who struggle with travel.
**Editor:** That’s remarkable. I understand China Telecom has also introduced a super air-ground convergence technology. How does this enhance the blood delivery system?
**Dr. Zhang:** This technology allows for continuous low-altitude coverage, which is essential for UAV operations. It employs smart antennas and a high-precision sensor network that enables real-time tracking and trajectory analysis of UAVs. Thus, we can ensure that the delivery process is both efficient and safe, even in challenging weather conditions.
**Editor:** It’s impressive to see technology bridge the gap in healthcare. What are the future implications of these advancements for other medical supplies beyond blood?
**Dr. Zhang:** The UAV model we have implemented can be expanded to transport other critical supplies, such as vaccines and medical equipment. This model can help improve healthcare accessibility in remote locations and effectively respond to emergencies regardless of traffic conditions or adverse weather.
**Editor:** Thank you, Dr. Zhang, for sharing these insights into the future of medical logistics. It’s clear that these advancements can profoundly impact healthcare accessibility in China.
**Dr. Zhang:** Thank you for having me. It’s an exciting time for healthcare innovation, and I look forward to seeing its positive effects on patient outcomes.
