NHS lab specimens have been flown between two health boards for the first time in Scotland.
Project CAELUS, led by AGS Airports and in partnership with NHS Scotland, saw the drone fly between Edinburgh’s BioQuarter, next to the city's Royal Infirmary, and the Borders General Hospital in Melrose.
The project aims to cut the time it takes to deliver specimens which are used to inform urgent clinical decision-making.
Currently it can take up to several hours for the vital samples to travel between NHS Borders and NHS Lothian.
However, the drone flights aim to make the 30-mile trip in around 35 minutes.
The project is working with a range of groups to deliver what would be the first national drone network for transporting medicines, bloods and other medical supplies between health boards.
Project director Fiona Smith said: “Our consortium has been working extremely hard to get to this stage and we are delighted we have been able to test this important-use case for the NHS.
“Transporting laboratory specimens by drone could speed up the clinical decision-making, allowing for same-day diagnosis and treatment.
“It is also one of the first times in the UK that there has been a demonstration of beyond the visual line of sight medical drone operations transiting between controlled and uncontrolled airspace.”
Tests were also carried out on how NHS staff in the future would engage with the drones both physically and digitally.
Hazel Dempsey, CAELUS NHS Scotland programme lead, said the project could drastically reduce transportation times for vital samples in remote and rural parts of Scotland where ferries are relied on.
She said: “Our aim, from an NHS perspective, is to explore opportunities where drone technology could benefit patients and NHS services in urban, remote, rural and island landscapes.
“The NHS is reliant on van logistics that have provided valuable service for decades, however these can take time, travelling hundreds of road miles each day.
“In some parts of Scotland, patients who live in remote and rural locations are dependent on ferry or airline availability.
“This project will enable the NHS to consider if drone technology is viable and able to contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of our population.”
