PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
Leveraging Drone Technology to Respond
to Public Health Crises
By Jill Sutton, specialist, Crisis Response and Tyler Wolford, MS, manager, Emergency Preparedness and Response
Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in
2017, the US Virgin Islands Department of
Health (USVI DOH) faced many obstacles
in providing essential public health
services, including laboratory testing for
public health threats. One of the biggest
challenges for the USVI DOH is that their
public health laboratory—located on the
island of St. Croix—is also responsible for
testing samples from the islands of St.
Thomas and St. John, which are usually
sent by seaplane or ferry. After the backto-back
disasters, these transportation
services were non-existent. A solution
was needed to restore sample transport as
quickly as possible and to ensure urgent
samples could be transported between the
islands on a more regular basis.
In late 2018, APHL was awarded a $15.1
million cooperative agreement by the
US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) to assist the US Virgin
Islands and two other jurisdictions
respond to and recover from the
destruction. Utilizing this funding, the US
Virgin Islands assessed the feasibility of
using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—
drones—to transport samples between
the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The goal of the project was to reduce
the turnaround time for testing of public
health samples. APHL contracted with
Skyfire Consulting, an expert in UAVs, and
in less than two months, the concept of
sample transport using drones was put to
the test.
Taking to the Sky
Prior to the launch, USVI DOH and
Skyfire Consulting determined flight
routes to identify potential hazards and
outcomes, coordinated with local law
enforcement and secured a boat to follow
the drone between the islands to ensure
it remained within the visual line of sight,
a requirement set by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
On November 8, 2019, USVI DOH and
Skyfire Consulting launched a hydrogen
fuel cell UAV with a temperaturecontrolled
compartment, across 43
miles of open ocean from St. Croix to St.
Thomas. In one hour and 43 minutes, the
UAV successfully landed in St. Thomas,
proving that drones could safely and
efficiently deliver samples between the US
Virgin Islands and reinforcing their value
for rapid sample transport.
The USVI DOH will be requesting
an FAA Beyond Visual Line of Sight
(BVLOS) waiver to obtain permission for
transporting samples beyond the visual
line of sight. This would not only help the
USVI DOH overcome obstacles that impact
sample transport, it would also greatly
reduce the turnaround time for testing
samples from St. Thomas or St. John,
especially after a natural disaster.
In the devastation following a public
health crisis—whether it be natural
disasters or a global pandemic—public
health laboratories and systems operating
in response will always face challenges
that can influence their ability to maintain
operations. Drone technology represents
a unique tool to overcome some of these
challenges. •
Doosan Mobility DS-30 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft before take off on November 18, 2019. Photo: Amanda Sloane
30 LAB MATTERS Summer 2020
PublicHealthLabs
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