A research partnership between Altru Health System and iSight Drone Services could have the latter company’s drone tech making deliveries across the hospital provider’s clinics – if they can find the cash to get airborne.“Step one is to find some dollars that are going to support this research or investigation as to what’s possible,” said Joel Larson, Altru’s legal and privacy director. “We’re optimistic that we’re going to get some work done, but we have to find the dollars first.”Hospital systems across the United States, including Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic and Mass General Brigham in Massachusetts, have announced plans to use or explore using drones for at-home medical deliveries.The Mayo Clinic is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.postbulletin.com/health/drone-delivery-for-drugs-medical-tests-at-mayo-clinic-to-take-flight-in-rochester">partnering with drone delivery service Zipline</a>&nbsp;to offer at-home deliveries from its Florida location beginning in 2025.Altru and iSight signed a research agreement April 8 to explore using iSight’s drones to make deliveries between Altru’s local and regional locations, including its clinics in Devils Lake and Drayton.Neither partner has dedicated funding to the project, so they’re banking on state and federal grants to bankroll the project. U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., endorsed the partnership in an April 8 press release.Larson said Altru is already spending heavily on projects with more immediate benefits, like building a new hospital in Grand Forks.Even then, money is just one hurdle.“The level of our flights depends on what we can get for grants,” said iSight CEO Tommy Kenville. “We can fly once a week with some money or once a day with a lot of money, but we also have a lot of other steps to get through.”For one, the drones will have to be modified to carry different payloads – most likely just medical equipment to start, Larson said – and iSight may need to use different drones depending on the flight distance.Kenville said regular flights, whether crosstown or out into the county, will likely require building more radar infrastructure than what North Dakota’s Vantis system currently offers.Flying to any of Minnesota’s Altru clinics would require an interstate agreement to expand the Vantis system to the other side of the Red River.Even a five-block flight from the new Altru Hospital to the hospital system’s business center on DeMers will require developing new rules for flying over urban areas.“We know the drones will do it,” Kenville said. “We just have to do it in the safest manner possible.”Larson said he expected the partners to have a clearer idea of how viable the project was after the next state legislative session.Last biennium, Gov. Doug Burgum backed tens of millions of dollars in spending on unmanned aerial systems infrastructure, but the state will have a new governor in January.“Projects like this one could be really, really great, or there might be too much red tape with the state and feds to actually accomplish much,” Larson said.

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A research partnership between Altru Health System and iSight Drone Services could have the latter company’s drone tech making deliveries across the hospital provider’s clinics – if they can find the cash to get airborne.

Altru Could Use iSight Drones for Medical Transport

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