Romanian medical services network MedLife introduces drone transportation for lab samples

MedLife, the largest network of private medical services in Romania, recently announced the introduction of a drone transport system for biological laboratory samples in the west of Romania.

The system was put in place in partnership with Australian company Skyy Network, making MedLife the first private medical operator in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe to use drones for the transport of laboratory samples.

The new transport system introduced by MedLife includes 3 Swoop Aero Kite drones, fitted with state-of-the-art technology and market-leading software, permitting predictive airworthiness via a digital twin. The aircraft are fully autonomous, with one pilot being able to monitor multiple drones at once. The human touch comes into focus only for the loading and unloading of samples.

The transports will be carried out from 4 localities – In Bihor county (Aleșd, Beiuș, Marghita, Salonta) to Oradea and Arad, in western Romania. With a 120 km length, the route particularly between Oradea and Arad becomes the longest drone flight route for medical samples in Europe. In the future, the company is planning to expand the project nationwide.

The MedLife project further benefits from the approval of the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority (RoCAA), as well as the Public Health Directorate in Bihor and Arad counties, and that of the Ministry of National Defence. After almost three months of tests and preparations, the first flights with real samples from patients have already been carried out.

"We are proud to reinforce our status as a pioneer in the field and to bring the future of medicine closer to the present. The success of the first flights with real samples gives us confidence in our plans outlined in this direction,” stated Mihai Marcu, CEO and Chairman of MedLife Group.

The average duration of a transport load flight time is around 19-28 minutes each way, less than one hour between Oradea and Arad.

The drone cruises at a speed of approximately 122 km/h. This represents a time saving of more than 50% compared to land transport, at the same time adding greater efficiency in collection and delivery by the autonomy offered by the system. As a result, MedLife manages to offer its patients quicker results, by cutting the response time from 24 hours to the same day, for 76% of the laboratory tests array.

(Photo source: MedLife)