Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) is using drones to establish a two-way transportation link between two hospitals in Ontario.

The link from Milton District Hospital to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital was set up with help from Air Canada as part of a deal with Halton Healthcare. This bidirectional route will facilitate the exchange of medical supplies and samples between the two hospitals to improve the efficiency of overall healthcare operations.

The $50,000 contract will run for six months and include 26 flights between the two hospitals. The Canary RPA will be used for this project marking it the first official commercial route for the drone. It will carry critical medical supplies between the hospitals including blood and serum chemistry tests, blood bank materials, urine cultures, small cytology containers with formalin, and blood culture bottles.

To optimise efficiency, the drones will use the existing heliport at Milton District Hospital, by reconfiguring DDC’s DroneSpot technology and infrastructure.

This will build on the success of several projects DDC has completed in healthcare and demonstrate the healthcare industry’s ability to leverage drone technology for the benefit of patients and medical professionals alike. By reducing transportation times and enhancing the security of medical samples, DDC says it is taking a step towards more efficient and reliable healthcare services.

“We are proud to partner once again with Halton Healthcare to continue to make inroads in the healthcare segment and demonstrate the benefits of remotely piloted aircraft systems and their ability to benefit the healthcare market overall with positive outcomes for patient care,” said Steve Magirias, CEO of DDC.

Hilary Rodrigues, senior vice president at Halton Healthcare, added: “The potential for using drones to transport medical supplies in healthcare is profound. This innovative project explores ways to be more responsive to the care needs of our patients, families and communities. With this project, we are embracing the future of healthcare services, one drone delivery at a time.”

Halton Healthcare (www.haltonhealthcare.com) comprises three community hospitals and numerous community-based services in the growing urban and rural communities of Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. It serves a population of more than 400,000.

DDC (www.DroneDeliveryCanada.com) is a drone technology company focused on the design, development and implementation of its proprietary logistics software platform, using drones. The company’s platform is intended to be used as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for government and corporate organisations globally.