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The VITAS project aims to lead research in enabling technologies for the implementation of healthcare logistics solutions with drones
Context
Context
In recent years, Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) solutions have emerged, including the use of drones for logistics and electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger transport. Technology in the healthcare sector is continuously evolving, creating new opportunities for both patient care and logistics management. Drones, in particular, are expected to play a crucial role in enhancing the management of medical supplies and emergency response operations. The potential for drones to be integrated into healthcare logistics and patient transport systems is significant.
IAM can be particularly impactful in improving healthcare services in remote areas with low population density. This is especially relevant in regions like “emptied Spain,” where an aging population poses substantial challenges that need to be addressed. Leveraging these technologies can enhance access to healthcare and ensure timely delivery of services, leading to improved outcomes for patients in underserved areas.
In summary, there are exciting long-term scenarios in which drones serve dual functions, optimizing logistics for healthcare facilities and facilitating the rapid transport of patients for medical emergencies, complementing traditional helicopter operations in rural or low-density areas. However, the necessary advancements could occur progressively as technologies and regulations allow. The goal for the sector could be to progressively equip various healthcare centers with a range of enhanced capabilities that would broaden the scope of aerial medical operations, i.e.:
Improve patient transport operations in medical emergencies using helicopters (short-term);
Implement new logistical operations with cargo drones (mid-term); and
Using eVTOLs to transport patients and medical personnel in short-distance emergencies (long-term)
Aim of the project
The VITAS project is an initiative within the IAM sector that aims to lead research in enabling technologies for the implementation of healthcare logistics solutions using drones. The VITAS project seeks to address some challenges related to the provision of healthcare services in rural areas by researching innovative technologies that will enable future healthcare logistics solutions for the "emptied Spain," using drones operated from automated vertiports and equipped with 5G IoT satellite communications. The research of the VITAS project will focus on the following areas:
Vertiports: Designing and developing a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to automate aerial operations around these infrastructures, with a focus on researching automatic detection systems for non-cooperative aircraft.
Drones: Designing an eVTOL drone optimized for healthcare logistics.
Communications: Investigating satellite communication systems to enable autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
The consortium aims to advance the research on the mentioned technological challenges and, therefore, demonstrate the technological viability of using highly autonomous drones for long-range healthcare logistics tasks from automated vertiports and in areas with low population density. In this way, the project can help improve safety, increase the autonomy of operations, and move towards the decarbonization of healthcare transport using electric drones.
The consortium for the project
This project has been subsidised by the CDTI, co-financed with European funds from the European Resilience and Recovery Mechanism and supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
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