NHS laboratory specimens delivered by drone for first time by Project CAELUS

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In a ground-breaking first for Scotland, laboratory specimens have been flown from one NHS board to another – by drone.

This step forward by the Project CAELUS initiative, led by AGS Airports in partnership with NHS Scotland, took place during a three-week flight trial between NHS Lothian and NHS Borders.

Live flying took place between the Edinburgh BioQuarter next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Borders General Hospital in Melrose.

Invited guests were involved in a special event today (21^st August) showcasing the live flight trial with presentations around the work conducted by Project CAELUS.

Currently, laboratory samples which inform urgent clinical decision-making are transported by road and can take up to five hours between NHS Borders and NHS Lothian due to due to needing to make multiple pick-ups.

Innovation activity being conducted by Project CAELUS could see this delivery take 35 minutes, enhancing the transport provision, particularly for rural areas.

Project CALEUS is working with 16 consortium partners to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities.

Fiona Smith, Project Director for Project CAELUS 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.

“This is an important milestone for our project and we now look forward to testing more potential use cases by drone across Scotland in the coming months.”

Hazel Dempsey is the CAELUS NHS Scotland programme lead: “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. This project will position the United Kingdom and NHS Scotland as a leader in healthcare and aviation industries.”

CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland), is part funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge.

It brings together 16 partners including the University of Strathclyde, Skyports Drone Services, NATS and NHS Scotland.

In the latest live flight trials, tests were also carried out on how NHS staff in future would engage with the drone both physically and digitally.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director and Executive Lead for Innovation, NHS Lothian said, “Across NHS Lothian, we are continually exploring ways to innovate and enhance our patient experience.

“Lothian and the surrounding areas are very diverse, from city to country and coastal living. Drones could play an important role in helping to transport samples for testing or speed up the delivery of critical medical supplies.

“These exciting trial flights have been a collaborative effort between our clinical leads, South East Innovation Hub and partner organisations and I look forward to seeing further developments with this project.”

Laura Jones, Director of Quality & Improvement at NHS Borders said: “We are proud to be involved in Project Caelus, exploring how drone technology could provide an additional logistics service to enhance access to essential medical supplies particularly in rural parts of Scotland like the Scottish Borders.

“Our involvement in this project is part of our commitment to providing high quality person-centred care by modernising services so that they are fit for the future using the technologies that are available to us going forward.”

Since January 2020, the CAELUS consortium has designed drone landing stations for NHS sites across Scotland and developed a virtual model (digital twin) of the proposed delivery network which connects hospitals, pathology laboratories, distribution centres and GP surgeries across Scotland.

In October 2023, in a hugely successful trial, flying took place between Glasgow Airport and NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank. This initiative was showcasing the integration of drones with modern airspace.

Live flight trials were operated by CAELUS consortium member Skyports Drone Services. The UK-based operator is an experienced provider of drone delivery, survey and monitoring services. The company has a long history of operating medical drone deliveries, including the first drone deliveries with the NHS.

The Scottish Ambulance Service also carried out a simulation study in August to better understand the feasibility of delivering an Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) via drone technology.

Paul Gowens, Associate Director, Research and Innovation with the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “We are delighted to be a key partner in Project CAELUS. Our recent study carried out in Edinburgh was a great success as we learned more about the feasibility of delivering an Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) via drone technology. We look forward to working alongside AGS and our partners on Project CAELUS on future milestones.”

Richard Ellis, NATS New Airspace Users Director, said: “This is a major step forward for the project and its fantastic to see many of the operational concepts we’ve helped developed be put into use. We are now a step closer to realising a truly integrated airspace where drones fly safely and seamlessly alongside conventional aircraft.”

The University of Strathclyde’s principal investigator for the project, Dr Marco Fossati, said: “The latest live flight trials mark an important milestone in the journey to developing a national medical transport drone network.”

Mike McNicholas, managing director for Infrastructure at AtkinsRéalis said: “It is a fantastic step forward for the project to make its first drone delivery and to see the ground infrastructure in use as part of the test flight. AtkinsRéalis has been working closely with the AGS Airports-led consortium on the development of large, portable landing pads that can be folded up and stored when not in use, or moved to another location to receive another drone landing.

“Using a combination of digital twin technology and live test flights, Project CAELUS is able to trial various prototypes, taking learnings from each iteration to hone designs and land on something that can demonstrate the viability, scalability and efficiency of a drone network for medical deliveries across Scotland.”

Anne-Lisa Scaillierez, partner at The Drone Office: “Public feedback from our engagement activities has shown overwhelming support for using drones in medical logistics across Scotland. We’re thrilled by the significant progress achieved as part of Project CAELUS.”

David Hiller, Associate Director of Arup, said: “Arup has been enormously privileged to contribute to such a pivotal study, helping to better understand the human impacts of noise in relation to health and wellbeing. The study facilitated by CAELUS is one of the first of its kind and will support broader innovation globally. Cross-sector collaboration is both exciting and crucial as the capabilities of advanced air mobility technology evolve.”

Connected Places Catapult’s Ecosystem Director for Air Mobility & Airports, Andrew Chadwick said: “It is tremendous to see drones being used as part of Project CAELUS to transport essential medical supplies from one site to another, particularly as this is the first time a drone flight has operated in Scotland between two different NHS health boards.

“Connected Places Catapult has been working with NHS Scotland to develop the business and economic cases for these types of services alongside consortium members, and we look forward to exploring future opportunities for drone operations.”

The CAELUS consortium comprises: