ArticlePloS one2022
Using drones to transport suspected COVID-19 samples; experiences from the second largest testing centre in Ghana, West Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Current and potential uses of drones in healthcare delivery in sub-Saharan Africa: a rapid scoping review.Global health action · 2026Article
- Inequalities and determinants of unmet need for SARS-CoV-2 testing in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Madagascar (2020 - 2021).Communications medicine · 2026Article
- New frontiers for unmanned aerial vehicles in planetary health research.BMC global and public health · 2026Review
- The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) on Delivering Biological Samples for COVID-19 and Tuberculosis Diagnosis: A Scoping Review.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Article
- Drone-Assisted Organ Transport: A Scoping Review of Clinical, Regulatory, and System Readiness.Clinical transplantation · 2025Article
- Closing the air gap: the use of drones for studying wildlife ecophysiology.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Healthcare providers' and community stakeholders' perception of using drones for tuberculosis diagnosis in Nepal: an exploratory qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Unmanned aerial vehicles and pre-hospital emergency medicine.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Review
- The impact of delivery by a fixed-wing, sling-launched unmanned aerial vehicle on the hematologic function of whole blood.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2023Article
- Revolutionizing healthcare: Navigating the trajectory of unmanned aerial vehicles from history to horizon.Medical journal, Armed Forces IndiaArticle
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29 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11 2020, by the World Health Organisation prompted the need for a sustained and a rapid international response. In a swift response, the Government of Ghana, in partnership with Zipline company, launched the use of Unmanned Automated Vehicles (UAV) to transport suspected samples from selected districts to two foremost testing centres in the country. Here, we present the experiences of employing this technology and its impact on the transport time to the second largest testing centre, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) in Kumasi, Ghana.
methodsSwab samples collected from suspected COVID-19 patients were transported to the Zipline office by health workers. Information on the samples were sent to laboratory personnel located at KCCR through a WhatsApp platform to get them ready to receive the suspected COVID-19 samples while Zipline repackaged samples and transported them via drone. Time of take-off was reported as well as time of drop-off.
resultsA total of 2537 COVID-19 suspected samples were received via drone transport from 10 districts between April 2020 to June 2021 in 440 deliveries. Ejura-Sekyedumase District Health Directorate delivered the highest number of samples (765; 30%). The farthest district to use the drone was Pru East, located 270 km away from KCCR in Kumasi and 173 km to the Zipline office in Mampong. Here, significantly, it took on the average 39 minutes for drones to deliver samples compared to 117 minutes spent in transporting samples by road (p<0.001).
conclusionThe use of drones for sample transport during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the travel time taken for samples to be transported by road to the testing site. This has enhanced innovative measures to fight the pandemic using technology.
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