Revolutionizing healthcare logistics: The strategic role of drone technology in blood bag deliveries for remote and emergency care

Introduction

Timely delivery of blood products is essential for emergency medical care, including trauma response, surgeries, and maternal health interventions. However, existing healthcare logistics systems face critical delays due to geographic barriers, traffic congestion, and infrastructure limitations.

Objective

This study presents an AI-driven drone-based healthcare logistics framework to optimize emergency blood transportation. The proposed model integrates the Flying Sidekick Traveling Salesman Problem with Drones (FSTSPD) for real-time route optimization under dynamic conditions. The framework is evaluated through a real-world case study involving 40 Delhi hospitals and 4 blood depots.

Methods

A mixed-methods approach combines real-world operational data from Zipline, Matternet, and Wingcopter with optimization modeling. The FSTSPD algorithm dynamically recalculates routes based on traffic congestion, airspace constraints, and emergency demand patterns. The case study applies GIS-based mapping to model urban healthcare logistics, with hospital demand rates and congestion conditions simulated based on publicly available urban mobility datasets.

Results

The integration of AI-driven route optimization led to a 15 % improvement in delivery efficiency, reducing average blood transport time from 90 min to 20 min during peak hours. Emergency response success rates increased from 80 % to 95 %, demonstrating effectiveness in critical care scenarios. The system also enhanced cold-chain compliance from 92 % to 99 %, minimizing blood wastage. Additionally, sustainability benefits included a 42 % increase in energy efficiency and a 67 % reduction in carbon emissions, supporting environmentally friendly medical logistics solutions.

Conclusions

While drones offer a transformative shift in medical logistics, challenges remain in airspace integration, infrastructure readiness, and regulatory approvals. This study provides actionable strategies for addressing these challenges, offering insights for policymakers, healthcare providers, and logistics developers. This research establishes drones as a viable solution for optimizing healthcare logistics worldwide by demonstrating scalability, efficiency, and environmental benefits.