TRANSPORTATION OF MEDICAL RESOURCES BY USING A MEDICAL DRONE.
A medical drone is a drone that can assist the medical and health sector in general in delivering life-saving medical supplies, treatment tools, and appliances in difficult or remote environments such as islands, mountains, and other locations. Drones are effective at delivering biologicals such as blood, serums, viral cultures, vaccines, and organs in the quickest and safest way possible, thereby saving millions of lives. The aircraft will transport medical supplies such as medicine, lab samples, and vaccines (COVID-19 vaccines).
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, more than 40% of deaths in Tanzania’s rural hospitals are caused by a lack of medicine and medical equipment.
The idea of making a medical drone came to me in 2019, when I visited Mwanza, Ukerewe, where there is an island called Ukara Island, and people from that island must cross the lake in a canoe to seek medical treatment at Ukerewe District Hospital. A pregnant woman gave birth while they were crossing to Ukerewe district one day. And some of the villagers on Ukora Island die as a result of delayed treatment on their island.
I was not pleased with the situation that occurred that day. As a young innovator, I decided to think about what method should be used to solve this problem, and then I came up with the idea of creating a medical drone that will transfer various medical resources from one island to another where there are no hospitals or health centers, or other areas where transportation is difficult.
In May of 2021, I was fortunate enough to be selected to attend the national science and technology competition (MAKISATU) in Dodoma. There, I met Idi Chazua, one of the employers from OpenMap Development Tanzania (OMDTZ). He was able to describe the technological initiatives they are pursuing, including the assistance they offer to women who are interested in technology.
Before the end of 2021, Digna Mushi, OMDTZ’s innovation officer, called to inform me that I had been selected to attend an innovation workshop in Arusha. I was thrilled and attended the workshop, where I learned a lot about technology, particularly drones, and saw that my dream of creating a medical device would come true.
In January 2022, I became a fellow of the OpenSkiesFellow program under OMDTZ and received funding to help me achieve my dream. I created the first prototype using a KK2 flight
controller and a quadcopter frame with the assistance of my colleagues and my mentor, Bornlove Ntikha.I worked with Tukupala Mwalyolo and Francis Mtalewa, two of my colleagues, to put together the drone. Both Tukupala and Francis had their own ideas about what problems the drone could solve.
Before putting a medical mechanism in the drone, I began considering how to attach it so that it would fit, as well as how to distinguish the medical box from the regular box by using stickers. The mechanism has the capacity to carry 5 to 7 kilograms, but it is also capable of going 10 kilometers in 5 minutes.
In the end, the dream I’ve had since 2019 came true in November 2022, and I’m now able to fly a drone for medical delivery and solve the problems of many deaths in hospitals caused by a lack of medical supplies, particularly in rural Tanzania.