This is particularly pertinent for sensitive payloads (e.g., medical payloads such as medicines and patient diagnostic samples), which may be detrimentally affected by in-flight conditions (e.g., vibration, temperature fluctuation). In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) publishes the Good Distribution Practice guidelines to maintain the quality of medicines when transported, but these guidelines do not address transport mode-specific factors that could affect quality (e.g., drone vibration).
Traditional modes (e.g., vans, bicycle couriers) are generally presumed to have no detrimental effect on payload quality due to long-established records of successful transportation. However, the vibration profiles of drones differ from traditional modes, and the full extent of the effect on payload integrity remains unclear and under-studied. The E-Drone project has carried-out a number of real-world trials involving medicines (insulin and monoclonal antibody (mAb) cancer treatments) flown in a variety of different drone platform types (fixed-wing, copter-style, fixed-wing/copter hybrid) for various durations (ranging from 3 to 50 minutes) at several locations in the UK (Thorney Island, West Wellow, Scilly Isles and Keevil). For more details, see Drone Flight Trials.
The results from the E-Drone trials, and from other real-world trials conducted by separate research projects also investigating drone transport of medical payloads (e.g., medicines, patient diagnostic specimens, blood), were encouraging, finding that payload quality was maintained post-flight. However, these studies were limited due to factors such as short flight durations, limited testing on a small number of drone platforms and samples, and the absence of standardised testing protocols. With patient safety in-mind, further investigations and development of standardised quality assurance practices will be necessary before routine drone-based medical deliveries are likely to be authorised.
Oakey A, Waters T, Zhu W, Royall P G, Cherrett T, Courtney P, Majoe D and Jelev N (2021) ‘Quantifying the Effects of Vibration on Medicines in Transit Caused by Fixed-Wing and Multi-Copter Drones’, Drones, 5(1), 22.
https://doi.org/10.3390/drones5010022
Zhu W, Oakey A, Royall P G, Waters T, Cherrett T, Theobald K, Bester A and Lucas R (2023) ‘Investigating the influence of drone flight on the stability of cancer medicines’, PLoS One, 18(1), e0278873.