Provides flight monitoring for world’s first
unmanned aircraft delivery of donor organ for transplant surgery in
an urban environment
AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation, participated in the world’s first
unmanned aircraft (UA) flight that delivered a donor kidney to
surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland for successful transplantation into
a patient with kidney failure. The momentous flight was a
collaboration between transplant physicians and researchers at the
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) in Baltimore;
aviation and engineering experts at the University of Maryland
(UMD); and collaborators at the Living Legacy Foundation of
Maryland (The LLF). While organ transport by drone has been
previously tested successfully between medical facilities by the
University of Maryland UAS Test Site in St. Mary’s County, this is
the first time the flight operation was used to deliver an organ
for transplant.
The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flight operation was
monitored by AiRXOS’ Air MobilityTM Platform, a rich, cutting-edge
grade framework enabling unmanned traffic management applications,
operations and services. The Air Mobility Platform manages the
volume, density, and variety of unmanned traffic data, while
coordinating and integrating that data within a secure,
FAA-compliant, gated cloud environment to ensure safe unmanned
operations.
Among the many technological firsts of this effort include: a
specially designed, high-tech apparatus for maintaining and
monitoring a viable human organ; a custom-built UAS with eight
rotors and multiple powertrains to ensure consistently reliable
performance, even in the case of a possible component failure; the
use of a mesh network radios to control the UAS, monitor aircraft
status, and provide communications for the ground crew at multiple
locations; and aircraft operating systems that combined best
practices from both UAS and organ transport standards.
Flight Operation Details
On Friday, April 19th, at approximately 12:30am, a human donor
kidney was loaded onto the UMMC drone. The flight, led by the
University of Maryland UAS Test Site at St. Mary’s County,
commenced at 1:00am. The vehicle traveled 2.6 miles (4.3 km) and
flew for approximately 10 minutes. The human kidney was
successfully delivered to University of Maryland Medical Center
(UMMC) and was scheduled to be used for a transplant surgery at
5:00am.
“AiRXOS is honored to have taken part in this landmark moment in
medical and aviation history,” says Ken Stewart, CEO, AiRXOS. “This
flight demonstrated how air mobility can transform the delivery of
medical care in ways that can have significant impact on lives. It
lays the foundation for future advanced drone operations. AIRXOS is
privileged to have worked closely with the UMD team in helping
perform this historic flight.”
“Having a robust and highly capable partner like AiRXOS teaming
with us not only gave us a greater confidence for this particular
operation, it really sets the stage for future Unmanned Traffic
Management and Beyond Visual Line of Sight research efforts,” said
Matt Scassero, director of the University of Maryland Unmanned
Aircraft System Test Site in St. Mary’s County.
Maryland faculty and researchers believe this prototype organ
transport blazes a trail for the use of UAS to expand access to
donated organs, improving outcomes for more people in need of organ
transplants. Currently organs are transported by commercial
aircraft or charter flights. Organ transplants have a limited
window of cold ischemia time (CIT) in which an organ can be chilled
and then have blood supply restored. As of January 2019, almost
114,000 individuals were on the national transplant waiting list
and every day approximately 80 people receive organ transplants,
according to the United Network for Organ Sharing - the nonprofit
that manages the transplant system. For sensitive medical
deliveries, reducing the amount of travel time in urban settings,
as well as vibration during travel can help lead to better
outcomes.
AIRXOS’ Air Mobility Platform is a digital infrastructure for
unmanned traffic that supports and benefits advanced operations
like medical delivery by providing a unique, agnostic, single point
of responsibility to manage and connect heterogeneous sets of
operations, applications, and devices - giving enterprises the
freedom to manage operations & communications, deploy
applications and expand operations as air and ground mobility needs
evolve.
About AiRXOS
AiRXOS is making a new way of moving possible. From people, to
cargo, to delivery, inspections, and public safety - we're taking
on the global challenge of the digital drone economy and changing
the future of transportation. AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation, is
digitizing today’s airspace, infusing next generation air traffic
management technology and services with world-class aviation
expertise and execution, AiRXOS is shaping a new era of
transportation through global, commercial Unmanned Aircraft (UA)
solutions. Learn more at: https://www.airxos.io/, or follow us on
LinkedIn.
About the University of Maryland School of Medicine
Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of
Medicine (UMSOM) was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical
school in the United States. It continues today as one of the
fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the
world—with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and
programs and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists,
and allied health professionals, including members of the National
Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences and a
distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical
Research. With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, UMSOM
works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland
Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive,
academic, and clinically-based care for more than 1.2 million
patients each year. UMSOM faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest
among public medical schools in research productivity, is an
innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24
start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and
globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries
around the world. Visit: medschool.umaryland.edu
About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship
university and one of the nation's preeminent public research
universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and
innovation, the university is home to more than 40,000 students,
10,000 faculty and staff, and 280 academic programs. As one of the
nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars, its faculty includes
two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners and 57 members of
the national academies. The institution has a $1.9 billion
operating budget and secures $514 million annually in external
research funding. For more information about the University of
Maryland, College Park, visit www.umd.edu.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190426005493/en/
Teri VossSr. Director, Marketing & CommunicationsAiRXOS,
part of GE Aviation847.370.5135Teri.voss@ge.com
Matt ScasseroDirectorUniversity of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft
System Test Site301.862.7824mscasseer@umd.edu
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