Piramal Foundation on Wednesday said it has piloted automated drones for faster transportation of sputum samples for screening and diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB) in hard-to-reach areas of Kalahandi district, Odisha.
Early detection of TB is a critical step in addressing its prevention and treatment. This posed a big challenge in Kalahandi given that one-third of the district is covered with dense forests and uneven hilly terrains, it said.
Piramal Foundation CEO Aditya Natraj said, "India records the highest number of TB cases every year and concomitant deaths. Despite being one of the oldest diseases, we have not advanced in our fight against TB."
Diagnosis is very critical to fast-track treatment and collection of sputum samples is a crucial step. It is important that the sputum is transported safely to the diagnostic centre with improved speed, he said.
According to the Foundation, the drone pilot was implemented in three blocks - Kesinga, Narla, and Bhawanipatna of Kalahandi district, to explore ways of accelerating pace of transportation to enable early diagnosis.
The pilot implemented last month in collaboration with Anamaya -- a tribal health collaborative platform — and drone logistics provider Redwing Labs, saw a significant time reduction to cover the distance to the diagnostic centre.
"With the deployment of drones, a distance of 36 kilometres of remote, hilly, uneven and forest-covered terrain which usually takes 55 minutes by road, was covered in half the time, around 20 minutes," it said in a statement.
The Redwing team customised the drones to suit the specific needs of this pilot and ensured operational efficiency of the drones. The drone used had a capacity to transfer 2-3 kilograms of weight. In total, 34 samples were collected from two villages during one flight each, it added.
Anamaya worked closely with the District Collector, Chief District Medical Officer, Civil Surgeon, frontline workers and the staff of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) to ensure seamless operations.
