I-DRONE

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a Drone-Based vaccine delivery model named, Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone).
Drone is a layman terminology for Unmanned Aircraft (UA). There are three subsets of Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Autonomous Aircraft and Model Aircraft.

Important points:

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has devised the model to make sure that life-saving vaccines reach everyone.

It has been designed to facilitate vaccine delivery to tough and hard-to-reach terrains of India.

Currently, the drone based delivery project has been granted permission for implementation in Manipur and Nagaland, as well as union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Island.
The permission was granted to the ICMR for conducting feasibility study of Covid-19 vaccine delivery using drones, in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur.

Significance:

It will help in overcoming the gaps in current vaccine delivery mechanisms and can be used in delivering important life-saving medicines, collecting blood samples etc.
This technology can also be used in critical situations. It can be a game changer in addressing the challenges in health care delivery, particularly health supplies in difficult areas.

Indian Council of Medical Research

It is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
Its mandate is to conduct, coordinate and implement medical research for the benefit of the Society; translating medical innovations into products/processes and introducing them into the public health system.
It is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

Post Views: 35