Organ kidney transported via drones for the first time
- 5 years ago
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Researchers have successfully used an unmanned drone system to deliver a donor kidney, according to a University of Maryland news release.
The drone was able to fly a kidney about 4.5 kilometers from a location in southwest Baltimore to surgical team at the medical center of the University of Maryland.
The kidney was kept in a cargo compartment which was sealed while in the air. It is called HOMAL or Human Organ Monitoring and Quality Assurance Apparatus for Long-Distance Travel.
The cargo box was able to maintain its own temperature while being able to track the altitude and GPS coordinates. This data was transmitted in real-time to the surgical team's smartphones.
This was so that the doctors could make sure the kidney was still viable, as organs tend to become less and less healthier as soon as they are removed from a donor, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper reports the kidney was then successfully transplanted onto a 44-year-old woman named Trina Glipsy in Baltimore.
The drone was able to fly a kidney about 4.5 kilometers from a location in southwest Baltimore to surgical team at the medical center of the University of Maryland.
The kidney was kept in a cargo compartment which was sealed while in the air. It is called HOMAL or Human Organ Monitoring and Quality Assurance Apparatus for Long-Distance Travel.
The cargo box was able to maintain its own temperature while being able to track the altitude and GPS coordinates. This data was transmitted in real-time to the surgical team's smartphones.
This was so that the doctors could make sure the kidney was still viable, as organs tend to become less and less healthier as soon as they are removed from a donor, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper reports the kidney was then successfully transplanted onto a 44-year-old woman named Trina Glipsy in Baltimore.