Trialling drones for medical use in NT remote communities

The iMOVE project Integrating drones into NT health looked to develop local capacity to integrate autonomous drone aircraft into the health care supply chain to remote Northern Territory (NT) communities.

This initiative marked the first application of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for healthcare delivery in Australia,. It is the first ever trial of freight delivery via RPAS outside of an Australian urban centre and the first attempt to operate RPAS in and around Aboriginal land and communities.

The work was undertaken with iMOVE, NT Health and Charles Darwin University. The final report for the project is available for download below.

Background

The NT’s population is among the most sparsely settled jurisdictions in the developed world. The delivery of healthcare in remote and regional Australia is costly and challenging, particularly for time-critical medical items. RPAS have become a routine part of medical delivery infrastructure in some developing countries, improving timeliness, reducing costs and saving lives. However, their use in the Australian healthcare supply chain is still in its infancy.

This project explored the numerous challenges to incorporating RPAS into the healthcare supply chain for remote and regional Australia, including:

• The vast distances that RPA would need to travel to deliver medical items to remote communities;
• Strict air safety regulations across the region;
• A harsh climate and unpredictable weather events; and
• A sparse population with low levels of training in RPAS.

Objectives

The objectives for this project were to:

1. Foster and grow local capacity to enable project deliverables;
2. Develop decision support tools to prioritise flight path selection;
3. Undertake regular RPA flights up to a distance of 250km along specified flight path;
4. Deliver some medical items by RPA to remote communities;
5. Develop logistical framework to undertake emergency response flights; and
6. Ensure sustainability of RPAS operations for medical delivery in the NT beyond the lifetime of this project.

The trialled aircraft

A public tender was undertaken to establish the airframe for the project. A variety of aircraft were used in field trials, the full list of which appears in the final report. More RPAS will become available in the future but, for this project, the team chose the Swiss RigiTech Eiger aircraft.

Swiss RigiTech Eiger aircraft

This eVTOL RPAS was selected because it weighs under 25 kilograms, can transport cargo weighing three kilograms, with a volume of up to 15 litres and has a range of up to 100 kilometres. It can communicate with the pilot via three modes and switch seamlessly between them during flight and landing – giving the pilot full vision and access to operations. This machine was also deemed the easiest for healthcare workers to load with cargo, replace batteries and adhere to checklists.

Challenges

The Australian scenario presented unique regulatory, technical, and logistical challenges – which are outlined in full, along with solutions, in the final report. A key challenge in mitigating air risk was maintaining a connection between the pilot and aircraft, due to the poor mobile network coverage across vast areas of the NT.

Mobile network coverage across Australia shows limited Northern Territory coverage

Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations require specific approval for the flying of drones Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). To alleviate any communication ‘black spots’ the project researchers developed a LTE- RF mesh network with Wi-Fi streaming vision of flight and landing site, allowing pilots to maintain control of operations during take-off, in-flight, communications enroute and upon delivery. The team were given permission by CASA to establish a BVLOS training area, allowing them to conduct test flights within agreed boundaries.

RPAS operations require a CASA Specific Operational Risk Assessment (SORA) for each new medical delivery hub. This process takes around 12 months and impacts on the presumed flexibility of RPAS operations. After consultation with CASA, it became clear that emergency response flights can only occur on existing flight routes, as they cannot deviate from pre-approved designated flight routes.

Pilot training

The project team established a cadre of local qualified and experienced RPA pilots and engineers. They also received CASA approval to deliver vocational RPAS training in the NT (Certificate III Aviation Remote Pilot).

Key findings

The critical take-home finding was that the technology and protocols used for RPAS healthcare delivery operations in developing countries could not be readily integrated into the healthcare delivery supply chains for remote communities in the NT. This was due to the broad distances the RPAS needed to travel, poor mobile network coverage and strict Australian aviation regulations.

This project developed bespoke infrastructure and protocols to overcome these hurdles and the findings generated from this project will inform the advancement of remote community RPAS healthcare delivery operations in the NT. They will also help to streamline the process for future initiatives nationwide, offering a transformative, low-emissions approach to healthcare access in remote regions across Australia.

Future trials

To further test a medical RPAS service in the NT, the research team proposes to undertake a medical delivery trial between two health centres in the remote West Arnhem communitie of Jabiru and Gunbalanya.

The locations selected for the trial will provide invaluable insight into not only the health benefits of the technology but provide important information highlighting seasonal and geographic challenges to supply chains for remote communities.

The first three-month trial is set to commence during the 2025 dry season, with a second trial slated to begin during the 2026 wet season.

Expected project impacts

Autonomous aircraft are on the horizon, regardless of our preferences. Given the vastness of the Australian continent and the imperative to deliver first-world healthcare to remote communities, Australia has a unique opportunity to lead the world in RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) health delivery, just as it once did with crewed aviation.

However, seizing this opportunity will necessitate substantial investment and collaboration across all levels of government. If we muster the courage to act now, we can maximise this potential.

Project Lead, Professor Hamish Campbell, Associate Dean of Research, Innovation and Research Training within the Faculty of Science and Technology, Charles Darwin University

The iMOVE project has made considerable progress in exploring the viability of integrating drones into the healthcare supply chain for remote communities in the Northern Territory.

Though the research team at Charles Darwin University encountered a range of significant regulatory and technological barriers, this project has delivered valuable learnings regarding the future inclusion of RPAS into healthcare supply chains.

NT Health looks forward to the 2025/2026 trials, which will provide essential insights into the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using drones to support healthcare supply chains in the Northern Territory and guide future investments.

Karel Haal, Health Innovation Project Lead, Health Statistics and Informatics, NT Health

Download the final report

Download your copy of the final report, Integrating autonomous aircraft into the healthcare supply chain for remote communities in the Northern Territory, by clicking the button below.