Impact of Using Drones in Emergency Medicine: What Does the Future Hold?

Johnson, Anna; Cunningham, Christopher J. L.; Arnold, Evan; Rosamond, Wayne D.; Zègre‐Hemsey, Jessica K.

doi:10.2147/oaem.s247020

Cited by 56 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…While very promising, we must however be aware of a number of obstacles for the widespread use of drones to respond to overdoses or other time-critical medical emergencies. These barriers include, for example, regulation, flying condition and zones, safety, data privacy, operations related to the design and maintenance of a medical drone network [30,47]. While not the focus of this study, future research will be needed on these hindrances as well as on user perceptions and acceptance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The chance of survival of an opiate overdose victim decreases by ten percent with each minute passing before resuscitation is attempted [14,45]. Although emergency medical services (EMS) are located to optimize access to the population, the median arrival time of US EMS is between 7 and 8 minutes and can go beyond 14 minutes in rural, geographically challenged, or high-traffic urban areas [30]. In that respect, Gao et al report that lessening the response time by one minute traditionally requires adding ambulances, each costing around $200,000, whereas a $10,000 drone can decrease the response time by two minutes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drone-Delivery Network for Opioid Overdose -- Nonlinear Integer Queueing-Optimization Models and Methods

Lejeune¹,

Ma²

2022

Preprint

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We propose a new stochastic emergency network design model that uses a fleet of drones to quickly deliver naxolone in response to opioid overdoses. The network is represented as a collection of M/G/K queuing systems in which the capacity K of each system is unknown ex-ante and modelled as a decision variable. The model is a bilocation-allocation optimization-based queuing problem which locates fixed (drone bases) and mobile (drones) servers and determines the drone dispatching decisions. The model takes the form of a nonlinear integer problem which is intractable in its original form. We provide a reformulation and algorithmic framework to allow for the exact solution of large instances. Our approach reformulates the multiple nonlinearities (fractional, polynomial, exponential, factorial terms) to give a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation. We demonstrate its generalizablity and show that the problem of minimizing the average response time of a network of M/G/K queuing systems with unknown capacity K is always MILP-representable. We design two algorithms and demonstrate that the outer approximation branch-and-cut method is most efficient and scales well. The data-driven analysis based on real-life overdose data reveals that the use of drones could: 1) decrease the response time by 85%, 2) increase the survival chance by 466%, 3) save up to 36 additional lives per year, and 4) provide an additional quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of up to 305 years in Virginia Beach.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drone-Delivery Network for Opioid Overdose -- Nonlinear Integer Queueing-Optimization Models and Methods

Lejeune¹,

Ma²

2022

Preprint

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“…The authors read the paper by Johnson AM et al with interest. 1 In light of the article, we would like to share our observations. With recent advancements in medical knowledge and technology, we know that damage caused by emergency conditions can be reduced if immediate care is provided.…”

Section: Dear Editormentioning

confidence: 94%

Managing Emergency Events in a Developing Country [Pakistan]: A New Chapter? [Letter]

Anwer¹,

Shariq²,

Rathi³

2022

OAEM

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“…Moreover, the timely transfusion of blood has proven to be essential in decreasing the death rate of patients suffering from uncontrolled hemorrhage, the main cause of preventable death in trauma [6]. This is also the case with pregnancy-related complications.…”

Section: Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Building on this, drones later began to be used as a fast, safe and cost-effective tool for the delivery of medicines such as epinephrine or insulin, antivenoms, vaccines and even body parts for transplant. [3,8] According to some studies, drones are capable of cutting the average delivery time by up to 78.8% [6].…”

Section: Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

UAV for Medicine and Humanitarian Purposes: Scope of Operation and Challenges

Koščáková

Koščák²,

Korba³

et al. 2022

Acta Avionica

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The use of drones is no more limited to commercial and environmental purposes. The incorporation of drones into medical and humanitarian actions has witnessed a significant advancement in recent years. The main purpose of drones for medical services is the fast delivery of various medical equipment and materials. Drones seem to be an ideal means for the creation of quick-access links between various medical facilities and people in need of assistance. Drones are ever more frequently deployed at disaster sites to facilitate search and rescue operations. As the drone deployment rate rises, the challenges and problematic issues are more apparent and the need for solutions more pronounced.

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Impact of Using Drones in Emergency Medicine: What Does the Future Hold?

Cited by 56 publications

References 79 publications

Drone-Delivery Network for Opioid Overdose -- Nonlinear Integer Queueing-Optimization Models and Methods

Drone-Delivery Network for Opioid Overdose -- Nonlinear Integer Queueing-Optimization Models and Methods

Managing Emergency Events in a Developing Country [Pakistan]: A New Chapter? [Letter]

UAV for Medicine and Humanitarian Purposes: Scope of Operation and Challenges

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