Will Drones Soon Deliver Medicine During Emergencies?

(TNS) — Drones could some day deliver life-saving medical supplies to injured persons across Cambria County , and even transport them to hospitals.

In that perhaps near future, the county would also be a hub of drone manufacturing, piloting and software development.

More than a dozen leaders in industry, academia and government who share that vision have joined together as Autonomous Aviation Research Consortium for Healthcare Innovation and Education Empowerment .

The John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport is at the center of the consortium’s mission.

It would serve as a drone testing site in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks , one of the Federal Aviation Administration’s seven designated unmanned aircraft systems test sites nationwide.

The Alaska Center for UAS Integration at the university is a national leader in the safe operation and integration of drones.

UAS’ partnership with the consortium extends the university’s FAA designation as an unmanned aircraft systems test site to the Cambria County airport .

Jimmy Parrish , of the university’s unmanned aerial systems team, attended a meeting Thursday with the consortium by video conference.

About 50 others gathered for the meeting at the Cambria County airport , 469 Airport Road , Richland Township .

“Johnstown and Fairbanks have similarities,” Parrish said. “They share a need to answer the question of ‘how do we get to communities off the road system?’ ”

As majority chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee , Sen. Wayne Langerholc , R- Richland Township , has been integral to forming the consortium’s partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks .

Langerholc; state Reps. Jim Rigby , R- Ferndale , and Frank Burns , D- East Taylor Township ; and U.S. Rep Glenn “GT” Thompson , R- Centre , attended the meeting of the consortium Thursday.

The consortium’s members were assembled three years ago by Larry Nulton , co-founder of the airport’s Nulton Aviation Services, after then- Cambria County Emergency Management Coordinator Art Martynuska approached him about using drones to deliver medical supplies.

The consortium includes the county’s board of commissioners, the Johnstown region’s federal and state government representatives, university presidents and industry leaders.

Many of them spoke enthusiastically about their goals Thursday.

Fueled by the Cambria County commissioners’ acquisition of a $2 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant, the consortium is working toward a long-term plan for using drone technology to address rural health problems and also foster economic growth.

In addition to the grant, the consortium is leveraging an unmanned autonomous medical system in development by the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus. That project is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense .

Among the consortium’s presenters was Dr. Ron Poropatich , the director of the Center for Military Medicine Research and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh .

Military needs are similar to rural emergency care needs, he said.

And if a DOD project can be commercialized for the civilian market, then the DOD can buy that technology at a much lower cost as opposed to that technology being military-only, he said.

“A military-civilian partnership is a really important part of what we are trying to do,” Poropatich said. “Unmanned casualty treatment and evacuation is a vehicle of opportunity.”

The university has designed an automized medical system for administering supplies and blood, carried by an unmanned drone to the point of injury.

For rural areas, the system would act as a “force multiplier” for ambulance services.

“Imagine there are five casualties, one medic can put in the IVs for all casualties and this technology could be supplied… we are talking about rapid treatment using an autonomous computer system talking to the ventilator or infusion pumps and making decisions with the drugs and blood products on how to resuscitate the casualty.”

The technology is shaped by thousands of prehospital casualty data collected by the university’s data center, he said.

After the drone drops off the medical supplies for treatment at the point of injury, it would support ambulatory services by transporting the patient most in need to a major medical center.

“The consortium is leveraging funding the University of Pittsburgh received,” he said. “We are joining forces with you all to make a difference for rural health care.”

With the potential for deployment of drones in support of health care, the partnership foresees the Johnstown region providing drone industry jobs in manufacturing, software engineering, drone piloting and maintenance.

Representatives from industry partners, including Concurrent Technologies Corp. and Compass Systems, attended the meeting as well as other partners in academia, including St. Francis University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania .

By Dec. 31 , the University of Pittsburgh will have defined a 10-year strategic plan for achieving the consortium’s goals. That plan would include a five-year financial plan.

Nulton said he believes the consortium’s plans for improving health and economic outcomes will be replicated across the state and the country.

Rural health issues have increased with a decline of volunteerism with community EMS and fire services, which has restricted rural America’s access to medication, health care and first responders. Drones could be key to reducing response time and essentially save lives, Nulton said.

“Although it’s starting here in Johnstown , what we want to do is take these concepts and ideas to high schools, universities, industries and really bill Pennsylvania as a leader of aviation emerging technology,” he said.

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