UAF drone program tests long-distance blood sample delivery

Alaska’s drone research program successfully completed a 1,000-kilometer test flight carrying human blood samples for the International Testing Agency, which investigates doping by athletes at the Olympics and other major sporting events. 

The 8-hour, 47-minute flight by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration aimed to show that unmanned aircraft can rapidly deliver blood samples without degrading them. ACUASI is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

The test began and ended at Nenana Municipal Airport on Aug. 19. 

Staff from the Interior Region EMS Council collected samples from volunteers the previous day at UAF. Each volunteer provided two samples for comparison of conditions before and after transport. 

ACUASI provided the flight platform and aviation expertise. Sysmex America, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based medical diagnostics company Sysmex Corp., provided the diagnostic equipment. The Institute of Doping Analysis and Sports Biochemistry in Dresden, Germany, provided sample analysis.

“The competency of ACUASI pilots is truly outstanding,” ACUASI Director Cathy Cahill said.  “The fact that they know how to do this and can go out, get set up and do something that is time-sensitive like this is significant. If it’s an emergency, you don't want to trust it to an amateur.”

The ITA contracted with ACUASI for the test. The two were brought together by drone manufacturer Windracers, which builds the ULTRA aircraft used in the test flight. 

ACUASI owns two of the twin-engine aircraft, which have a 31-foot wingspan, a range of about 600 miles, a 200-pound cargo capacity and three cargo drop doors. They can fly from dirt, grass, ice or tarmac.

The test flight was time-critical, beginning with the blood draw and continuing through sample cold storage, labeling, transport from Fairbanks to Nenana, aircraft preparation, cargo loading and flight duration. The samples contained no personally identifying information and were not evaluated for doping or medical conditions. However, chain of custody for each sample had to be maintained throughout. 

“Athletes want something efficient, something they can trust,” said Neil Robinson, head of ITA’s Science and Medical Department.

“Samples are in sealed boxes and loaded in the drone,” he said. “Everything is documented, and we can track the aircraft to demonstrate that it didn’t land in a field so someone could take the samples.”

The ITA completed its first drone-delivery testing in 2022 in Doha, Qatar, with a Swiss drone company.

That testing, conducted with the Qatari anti-doping laboratory, consisted of three flights using quadcopters to deliver samples over distances of up to 20 kilometers. Each flight reduced the travel time by roughly half compared with delivery by ground.

The Alaska test gave ITA an opportunity to evaluate sample transport over much greater distances.

“There are not many drones like this in the world with this cargo capacity,” Robinson said. “These drones are of great interest to us because we can fly much longer distances.”

Robinson believes unmanned aircraft will increasingly be used to deliver medical samples. Using them can cost less than using crewed aircraft and allow anti-doping officials to respond more quickly.

“The interest is to use sport as a model to ship samples,” he said. “I'm not saying we’re ready today, but I think we’ll be ready tomorrow.”

The test focused on blood samples but could potentially inform future applications involving medical testing, research and other biological samples.

“If we can have nurses go into a community and take samples, send them back for analysis, determine what medications are needed and get that sent back to the community before the nurses leave, that is a huge benefit for getting people the care they need in the location where they are,” Cahill said.

UAF is one of nine FAA-designated unmanned aircraft systems test sites established to develop and test drone technology. ACUASI manages and operates the test site, which has several test locations around the country.