A-191 Evaluating the Impact of Drone Delivery on Blood Sample Quality: A Multi-faceted Validation Approach
Paul Cane, Hammad Jeilani, James Milne, Benedict L. Phillips, Dominic Jon Harrington · Clinical Chemistry · 2025
Abstract Background The increasing consolidation of pathology laboratories into central hubs, while enhancing efficiency, often leads to extended turnaround times. Drone delivery can offer a faster, more sustainable alternative for traditional ground transport to mitigate this. Using a multi-faceted approach, we rigorously validated drone delivery as a viable inter-hospital logistics solution, ensuring sample quality was not negatively impacted. Methods The validation process was structured in three distinct phases: drone operator technical validation, temperature validation of simulated samples and scientific validation of pathology samples. Each phase required approval from key laboratory and clinical stakeholders before drone delivery was approved for routine clinical service. This abstract focuses on the scientific validation of pathology samples, employing a tailored approach to the available instrumentation and testing repertoire at each site. Three different primary methodologies were used across the three departments involved: Specialist Haemostasis: Tests were only available at the receiving laboratory. Therefore, all sample tubes were split at the sending laboratory, with one aliquot transported by drone and the other by ground courier to the receiving laboratory. Tests included: (1) vWf:GP1bR assay, (2) Factor VIII (baseline), (3) Factor IX (baseline), (4) Antithrombin activity IIa, (5) Antithrombin activity Xa, and (6) Protein C activity. Biochemistry: For tests available at the sending laboratory, samples were first analysed on site before an aliquot was drawn for drone transport to the receiving laboratory. Tests included: (1) Potassium, (2) Lactate dehydrogenase, (3) Bicarbonate, (4) Total bilirubin and, (5) Phosphate. For tests available only at the receiving laboratory, samples were split as for Specialist Haemostasis. Tests included: (1) Cortisol and (2) Lactate. Special Haematology: Samples were first analysed on site at the sending laboratory before being split, with one aliquot transported by drone and another by ground courier to the receiving laboratory. Tests included: (1) CD3, (2) CD4, (3) CD8, (4) CD19 and, (5) CD16/56. Validation criteria were predefined by the relevant laboratory department and data were compared using a combination of analyser uncertainties, inter-analyser variation, and statistical analyses. For statistical comparison, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests or students paired t-tests were used depending on data normality (assessed using Shapiro-Wilk). Results All tested pathology sample types passed validation criteria, with no significant difference between in-house-tested, drone-delivered, and ground-transported samples. Throughout all flights, the temperature within the thermal canister used for packing the samples was monitored to ensure sample stability, remaining consistent despite fluctuating weather conditions. Drone delivery achieved an average flight time of approximately 2 minutes, significantly faster than the 35-minute average ground transport route, a 94% reduction in transit time. Conclusion Following successful validation, an on-demand drone delivery service was launched in October 2024 between Guy*s Hospital and St Thomas* Hospitals in London and continues to operate. To date, over two thousand samples have been transported via nearly 300 flights, leading to faster analysis times and mitigating logistical challenges associated with scheduled ground transport. Future plans include expanding the range of validated tests, establishing new flight routes to other regional hospitals, and demonstrating improvements to patient care and laboratory efficiency.