Ukraine is actively developing the direction of unmanned systems for performing various operations on the battlefield. However, it is already obvious that many developments will be useful not only on the front. Military technologies will be able to perform important tasks in civilian life as well.
One example is transplantology. To speed up and reduce the cost of transporting donor organs, the Ukrainian Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine plans to use aerial drones, which are currently used for reconnaissance and defeating the enemy. The clinic's general director, Professor Borys Todurov, spoke to Oboronka about the project in more detail.
Why transport organs by drone?
Time is of the essence for transplantation, as the heart can survive outside the human body for about four hours. Therefore, previously, helicopters were used for transportation from remote regions. But after the outbreak of the Great War, Ukraine's airspace was closed – now organs are transported by car.
This significantly limits the distance for transportation. However, specialists at the Heart Institute have learned to extend the time during which the heart remains viable to 6-7 hours. And this has provided additional opportunities: for example, the organ can now be delivered to Kyiv from Zaporizhia.
"But the car is driving on the road and this path is not always easy. There is traffic, traffic lights, potential breakdowns, the need to refuel. In addition, the team is driving on the highway at high speed – this is dangerous for people who are carrying their hearts," stressed Borys Todurov.
Drones do not have these problems: they are not dependent on traffic, do not require stops and do not pose risks to the medical team. According to the general director of the clinic, UAVs are able to cover the required distance almost twice as fast as a car.
However, in the current conditions, the use of drones is just as impossible as the use of helicopters. This solution is considered promising after the opening of airspace. In this case, drones will have tangible advantages.
"A helicopter is a very expensive thing. Its use costs several thousand dollars per hour... In contrast, a drone for 700 kilometers requires 6 liters of gasoline – that's 360 hryvnias. This will be the cost of transporting a heart thanks to a UAV," the professor emphasized.
At the same time, a lot of work needs to be done to launch the project. In particular, to prepare the legislative framework for flights in peaceful skies and develop a security system. For example, theoretically, a parachute can be installed on the device, which will open if necessary. A built-in beacon will help to find the UAV.
What drones are already being tested?
The Heart Institute is testing two Ukrainian-designed military UAVs. They are equipped with cameras, a communication system, and have been used in combat. But they differ in characteristics that determine their intended use. This is important, because the clinic is located in Kyiv, and it is here that donor hearts are delivered for transplantation.
The first drone is a hybrid: it takes off and lands vertically, but flies in airplane mode. At an altitude of 50 m, a gasoline engine is turned on, which accelerates the device to 150 km/h and allows it to cover up to 700 km in one direction. Such a UAV can carry up to 10 kg and is being considered for flights throughout Ukraine.
Judging by the video, we are talking about the PD-2 drone from the Ukrspetssystems company, which is their "premium" product with high characteristics.
The second drone is a copter type. It can carry up to 20 kg, but is designed for a distance of about 50 km. This means that the UAV will not be able to fly far from Kyiv. However, if the payload is reduced and additional batteries are installed, the flight range could potentially increase.
"We are not transporting landmines, we need to deliver hearts. That is why I am talking to developers to increase the distance to 70, 80 or even 100 km. Experts say that this is technically possible. In this case, we will be able to "cover" the entire Kyiv region with a copter drone," explained Borys Todurov.
One of the most important stages of the project is test flights at a military airfield. Their goal is to find out what happens to the organ and whether it will be suitable for transplantation after being transported by drone.
To do this, a pig's heart and erythrocyte mass are placed in a special thermal box, after which the UAV is lifted into the sky for four hours. After landing, the temperature inside the box is measured, a myocardial biopsy, a blood test, and erythrocyte microscopy are performed. The level of vibration and its effect on blood cells are separately checked.
Loading a thermal box into a hybrid drone
Screenshot from the video
As part of the project, the team conducted two experiments under different weather conditions for the hybrid UAV: one flight took place at -10 °C, the other at +30 °C. In both cases, the results were successful.
"As a result, we were convinced that this method could also be used to transport a human heart... Military equipment has become so modern, safe, and controllable that we decided: drones are the future," the professor emphasized.
Next steps and prospects
The idea of using drones to transport organs appeared at the clinic back in 2021. And in March 2022, the first heart transport was supposed to take place thanks to a UAV – the team received the "green light" to fly from Zhytomyr to Kyiv. However, a full-scale invasion destroyed these plans.
Now the Heart Institute is continuing the program and preparing to launch it as soon as it becomes possible. The clinic has attracted an investor and paid for a hybrid drone with a flight range of 700 km. In addition, it has managed to find financing for the purchase of a copter drone - its specifications are still being selected.
However, the institute is not limited to technology. It plans to cooperate with military operators who will return home after the front. Their unique experience could become the basis for the use of drones in civilian medicine.
"After our victory, thousands of people who have learned to fly drones professionally will return from the front. All these specialists will be unemployed after the war. Their potential will need to be directed into civilian life and used, for example, in medicine," emphasized Borys Todurov.
At the same time, he is convinced that drones can be used not only for transporting organs, but also for other tasks. For example, delivering medical equipment, medicines, solutions, blood or plasma to places where other transport cannot cope.
"In civilian life, there is such a need. For example, a person went to Hoverla and felt sick there. They need to deliver medicine or something else – a drone can rise into the sky and be on the mountain in a matter of minutes," the general director of the Heart Institute gives an example.
Interest in Ukrainian developments is also being shown abroad. Ukrainians are offering their colleagues in the US, particularly in Texas, to use drones to deliver serum for snakebites. There, the nearest hospital is sometimes over a hundred kilometers away, and a drone can reduce this time significantly.
Thus, Ukrainian military technologies can find application in civilian life both at home and abroad.