Island Health is exploring the idea of flying medical supplies by drone to remote communities on Vancouver Island, although it’s still very much in the concept stage.
The University of Victoria’s Centre for Aerospace Research flew an electric, six-bladed hexacopter carrying a mock medical supplies package from a small helipad at North Island Hospital in Courtenay to an adjacent field as part of a demonstration in November of the drones’ potential.
It’s part of a potential partnership the university’s aerospace research centre and Island Health are trying to get off the ground under the umbrella of the new North Island Research and Innovation Hub.
Dr. Dieter de Bruin, Island Health executive medical director for clinical service delivery on the north Island, said in the future, drones might be able to deliver pharmaceutical supplies or lab samples to and from harder-to-reach communities.
“I am very excited, and my mind’s already going in a million different directions about the ways we could use this to better serve our patients — especially our patients in very rural and remote communities,” de Bruin said.
Manager Jay Matlock said the centre has been working for the last 15 years to position itself as experts in the autonomous aerial systems world on a wide variety of projects.
It started working with Island Health in the latter part of last year to explore where it can augment the health authority’s existing transportation delivery routes “and kind of fill in the gaps” to potentially expand the frequency or hours of deliveries at reduced costs, Matlock said.
The centre says it might be able to provide assistance if there are interruptions in conventional emergency transportation, such as road, ferry and plane routes. “I think unmanned aerial systems can help connect communities on Vancouver Island.”
While the drone used in the demonstration was a modified commercially available model, Matlock said the centre designs and manufactures 90 per cent of the drones it flies, and the plan is to build ones for any Island Health project.
Max Jajszczok, Island Health executive lead for rural and remote health sustainability, said in a video of the test flight that the health authority serves 40 rural and remote communities, “many of them only accessible by boat or air.”
Cormorant Island Health Centre, for instance, is only accessible by water or air. Supplies could be sent back and forth via drone after the ferry stops for the day, Jajszczok said.
Matlock called the demonstration “chapter one of what we hope to be many chapters.”
David Hall, operations director for laboratory services for the central and north Island, envisions a network of semi-autonomous drones moving around medical supplies, lab samples and blood supplies in what he called a “technological transformation” for Island Health.
First, however, a number of issues would need to be addressed, including how to protect patient confidentiality and privacy, along with security, airspace regulations and cost.
Island Health said this is “early days” and those issues have yet to be worked out.
More demonstrations and explorations are expected in future to see how the technology can be applied.
Matlock agreed there are many hurdles yet to get over. “We want to make sure the technology is as safe as possible, especially if we’re transporting important payloads.”
The centre has qualified licensed pilots, but Matlock said if delivery drone operations were established in the future, the goal would likely be to train or have Island Health employ more operators in different locations to support more deliveries.
Transport Canada amendments to the Canadian Aviation Regulations for remotely piloted aircraft systems — implemented in 2019 for drones weighing less than 25 kilograms — are expected later this year and would expand regulation to medium-size and heavier drones and “beyond [operator’s] visual line of sight” operations.
The amendments follow explosive growth in the drone sector in Canada and around the globe.
They will require drones to weigh less than 150 kilograms, have the technology and capability for both detecting and avoiding other air traffic, and be flown over sparsely populated areas in uncontrolled airspace at low altitudes. The new rules will equally apply to commercial and recreational drone pilots.
More than 100,000 drones are registered in Canada, according to the federal government, and more than 100,000 drone pilots are certified.
Matlock said the centre wants to be positioned and ready for the updated regulations and ensure its operations are safe and compliant.
He said the development of any projects with Island Health in the future will require experts from a wide variety of areas, which is the intent of the North Island Research and Innovation Hub.
Island Health said further demonstrations are expected this year, likely north of Campbell River.
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