Researchers from University of Maryland made history when a drone delivered a donated kidney which was then successfully transplanted into a patient for the first time.
According to an article by CNN, the unmanned drone delivery was developed by researchers, physicians and aviation and engineering experts from the University of Maryland school of medicine, University of Maryland and the living legacy foundation of Maryland.
The unmanned drone delivery system is the fastest and the easiest forms of transportation. The drone delivery took only 5 minutes. The most crucial part of an organ transplant is the transportation as the organ has many complex structures which need to be handled with care.
Researchers say that the faster an organ is transported and transplanted the better it works. Usually organs are transported by air, but in some cases there are delays due to air traffic and sometimes the organs are left on planes.
According to the article, almost 1.5 percent shipments did not reach in time due to transportation difficulties. In preparation for this unmanned mission various tests and experiments were conducted including transportation of blood tubes by the drone and then a healthy but non-viable kidney. The drone also included complex apparatus for monitoring the organ .
Various safeguards were also installed as back up plans in the drone itself. These included backup propellers and motors, dual batteries, a backup power distribution board and a parachute recovery system. This drone delivery system will revolutionize the process of organ transplants.
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