Vertiflite May/June 2021

Overhead flights could scan an area and gather data to evaluate the dangers and opportunities for intervention. Challenges with Drone Research On top of the procedural challenges, there is currently a lack of infrastructure for the seamless professional use of drones. Their primary advantage is that they are quickly operable, yet due to understandable risks posed by the commercial/ consumer industry, legislation is a growing concern. It is required to book flights in advance and wait for Transport Canada’s approval. The need for dedicated airspace will be crucial for hospital-to-hospital drone exchanges and with Héma-Québec. Facilitating unplanned uses for the healthcare system is the central objective of this research and would make drones a great tool for the medical sector. Drone Safety These debates on challenges naturally bring up the question of safety with drones. Fly-aways — where the drone loses connection with the pilot and keeps its last received flight command — have been happening with decreasing frequency as the technology has evolved. Indeed, a lot of redundancy is built into them to make their flight as safe as possible. They can often communicate through different

means like cellular, radio and satellite connections to reduce such risk. There is also a need for clear, predetermined paths for the drone to fly along as in the Héma-Québec example. Yet, drone flights near airports and hospital helipads need to be proven reliable so that they do not disrupt their traffic. Conclusion To summarize some of the key takeaways from this interesting panel session, drones offer a wide range of opportunities to advance medicine and healthcare in various contexts. Beyond the engineering challenges of pilotless flight, the now low cost of these devices has necessitated new conversations around privacy, interoperability and equity. The next few years will be an interesting time in realizing these possibilities while converging on safer, more ethical uses for drones.

Attention students: If you want to learn more about vertical flight and have more involvement at your school, start a chapter! Contact VFS Academic Coordinator Betty Chen at bchen@vtol.org or learn more at www.vtol.org/education .

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