Drones. I’m sure that just brought up a picture of war. But, what if we turned that on its head.

No, I am not talking about the use of drones by Amazon to deliver the products we want. And, I’m certainly not talking about the use of drones by cops to spy on us citizens.

But, what if we don’t have books- or bombs- or spy cameras- on these objects, but provide telemedicine equipment. And, we are not going to use this for treating rural citizenry.

Nope. What about using these devices to help deal with natural disasters. Like tornadoes- where debris renders roads impassible, so rescue workers can’t get to those needing help quickly. Or floods, where water covers the roads, leaving those in need left in need.  Or, a hiker (heart attack, a fall, a bite) in distress in a remote location.

Well, after Hattiesburg was destroyed in 2013 by a hurricane, Dr. Italo Subbarao (William Carey University, Osteopathic Medicine) wanted to discern how slow the response of EMT (emergency medical teams) was. And, his students reported that for many of the more than 80 folks in need of medical assistance, that response was delayed because downed power lines and felled trees blocked road access to those in need.

Given that Dr. Subbarao is not only an associate dean, but a disaster medicine specialist, he began thinking of alternative ways to deliver the needed help. And, coupling AV (audiovisual equipment), medical supplies, and a drone seemed like the logical response. (NOTE: Telemedicine is generally not considered legal in many jurisdictions- and it becomes highly problematic if one crosses state lines; mostly because physicians have STATE licenses and not FEDERAL authority to practice medicine.)

There are a few problems with the concept (of course). Like Federal Law restricts the operations of drones to daylight operations, altitudes below 400 feet, and line of sight operations from the “pilot”. (These apply to nonmilitary drones because we know the military  goes higher and further- and loves night time “surprises”.)

Since 2014, Subbaroa has hooked up with one of his medical students (GP Cooper, Jr.) and Dennis Lott (unmanned systems programs at Hinds Community College, Raymond, MS). They have produced several prototypes of the idea. And, those prototypes sparked interest across the US (AZ, LA, NY, TX, as well as the cities of Dallas, New York, Phoenix, DC)- even extending to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Their design is capable of trekking 20 pounds (well below the Federal limit of 55 pound payloads). The drones can currently fly some 5 miles at 40 mph; it’s hoped the next generation will be able to cover 100 miles.

The suitcase (the 20 pound load) is laden with medical supplies and the AV equipment. The AV is either cameras equipped with microphones and speakers or interactive goggles for a civilian to wear. Either way, the physician is practicing telemedicine, instructing the survivor or bystander to focus the camera or goggles on the victims or portions of the body. Blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, sugar and/or oxygen levels would be measurable by the equipment in the suitcase; the physician can talk the bystander through applying a tourniquet, dressing wounds, and/or injecting medicine into the patient.

And, now the developers are seeking outside funding for the Hiro (Health Integrated Rescue Operations).  Their two colleges have foot the bill to date. Mississippi state officials are interested enough to consider staging these rotary winged drones in nine locations around the state, making no one incapable of treatment in more than 2 hours.

And, the researchers are leaning on the FAA to relax the regulations about line of sight and to enable night flying for this specific system. (The FAA has agreed  to provide emergency permission to “bend” the rules within 2 hours of a request for civilian aid, to allow Hiro operations.)

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