Understanding the viability of drone logistics for assisting pathology transportation: a case study in Dorset, UK
Understanding the viability of drone logistics for assisting pathology transportation: a case study in Dorset, UK
Integrating drones into medical logistics could improve patient care through expedited delivery from remote areas, whilst reducing the NHS’ environmental impact. This research assesses the feasibility of integrating drones into fixed-round van pathology logistics. Historical data on patient diagnostic collections were analysed from 72 GP surgeries in Dorset, UK, delivering to three hospitals. The impact on van numbers, CO2 emissions, time, distance and cost from introducing drones to serve specific surgeries were quantified using optimisation techniques. The results suggested that introducing 5 drones serving 13 surgeries removed 4 vans, decreased daily CO2 emissions by 77 kg and mileage by 51% but to the detriment of overall daily cost, which increased by 58%. The surgeries served by drones experienced an 83%reduction in average sample delivery time over business-as-usual, with potential positive impacts on bleed-to-diagnosis times.
Drone; pathology; healthcare; sustainability; unmanned vehicle; uncrewed aerial vehicle, pathology, unmanned vehicle, uncrewed aerial vehicle, Drone, sustainability, healthcare
Porter, Jessica
e5929951-e97c-4720-96a8-3e586f2d5f95
Cherrett, Tom
e5929951-e97c-4720-96a8-3e586f2d5f95
Oakey, Andy
ee8df3f1-06b7-45de-9bcc-6c8ec4fd634a
Porter, Jessica
e5929951-e97c-4720-96a8-3e586f2d5f95
Cherrett, Tom
e5929951-e97c-4720-96a8-3e586f2d5f95
Oakey, Andy
ee8df3f1-06b7-45de-9bcc-6c8ec4fd634a
Porter, Jessica, Cherrett, Tom and Oakey, Andy
(2025)
Understanding the viability of drone logistics for assisting pathology transportation: a case study in Dorset, UK.
International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications.
(doi:10.1080/13675567.2025.2454495).
Abstract
Integrating drones into medical logistics could improve patient care through expedited delivery from remote areas, whilst reducing the NHS’ environmental impact. This research assesses the feasibility of integrating drones into fixed-round van pathology logistics. Historical data on patient diagnostic collections were analysed from 72 GP surgeries in Dorset, UK, delivering to three hospitals. The impact on van numbers, CO2 emissions, time, distance and cost from introducing drones to serve specific surgeries were quantified using optimisation techniques. The results suggested that introducing 5 drones serving 13 surgeries removed 4 vans, decreased daily CO2 emissions by 77 kg and mileage by 51% but to the detriment of overall daily cost, which increased by 58%. The surgeries served by drones experienced an 83%reduction in average sample delivery time over business-as-usual, with potential positive impacts on bleed-to-diagnosis times.
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Understanding the viability of drone logistics for assisting pathology transportation a case study in Dorset UK
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Accepted/In Press date: 3 January 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 13 February 2025
Keywords:
Drone; pathology; healthcare; sustainability; unmanned vehicle; uncrewed aerial vehicle, pathology, unmanned vehicle, uncrewed aerial vehicle, Drone, sustainability, healthcare
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 499007
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/499007
ISSN: 1367-5567
PURE UUID: a830a65d-a821-47ff-ba3b-16d90536f724
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Date deposited: 06 Mar 2025 17:56
Last modified: 17 Sep 2025 01:35
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