Polaris Market Research estimates that the global medical drone market will be worth $947.6 million by 2027. “Medical drones” as described by the report primarily refer to unmanned delivery vehicles.
The key players of the Medical Drones Market are Zipline, Vayu, Matternet, Flirtey, Embention, DJI, and DH. Zipline drones continue to be the frontrunner in the drone delivery market. The company “has cumulatively flown more than 1 million kilometres in Rwanda with more than 13 thousand deliveries. In the outskirts of Kigali, drones carried 35% of blood samples to be transfused.”* In Ghana the company has also started delivering COVID-19 testing kits,” according to their press release.
Zipline has established full operations in Africa, while other projects in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia have been less expansive.
Our nation’s crisis, with far too much loss of life, has expedited the process with regard to drones thus enabling us to use drones to help save more lives in this crisis. This crisis has moved drone delivery trials forward across the globe, including in North America, which is beginning to lead the market for medical drones.
The UAS Integration Pilot Program provided opportunities in the U.S. for medical delivery projects and delivery with logistics giant UPS, which has established a medical drone delivery program on large medical campuses, and is already poised to expand.
As technology improves, so do applications. According to Polaris Market Research:
“There’s continuous ongoing research in this field to develop new products with superior accuracy and speed in delivery of medical supplies to the targeted location. These drones can be either operated manually or they can be strategically programmed for performing long-distance flights and following the designated route precisely. In addition, they also have several key benefits such as they don’t require any landing space and can be programmed to drop the supplies by flying near to the ground.”*
Medical Drones are delivery drones that are used for medical purposes, which includes the operations and processes that are specific to those applications. While Zipline developed a full solution early, many operations and logistics companies have partnered with drone companies, such as the partnership between UPS and Matternet.
Polaris Market Research explains:
“Players in the market have primarily adopted partnership strategies to strengthen their position in the global market. For instance, in June 2020, TechEagle has partnered with Zomato to boost the delivery of medical supplies via drones all across the regions in India that are facing floods and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation.”
The medical drone delivery market is ready to grow significantly since it often has life saving applications. Like many delivery programs, medical drones also have even more generous financial benefit.
The press release points out the following:
“The UK based research firm Nesta in its report titled “Flying High” in collaboration with the NHS discussed the possibilities of rapid transportation of medical necessities in between the UK hospitals based in London… It is being estimated that the use of medical drones could result in saving USD 21 billion in the annual cost to the country’s economy.”
The rapid development of highly advanced technology and the continuous research work in this field for developing new products, has greatly increased the adoption of medical drones in military bases and hospitals, thereby fueling the growth of the market.
The capability of medical drones to fly over the completely closed zone without any crew member is also an important factor, which is fostering the demand for this market. Furthermore, drones have proven to be reliable medical delivery platforms for pharmaceuticals, patient transport, vaccines, and medical equipment.
Future
As alluded to previously, one can benefit financially to a great extent through the use of drones while also helping others. It only a matter of time before we see the increasing application of medical drones across the healthcare chain, which will likely impact industry growth on a monumental global market — $947.6 million by 2027.
This market offers tremendous financial incentives for those who aggressively seize the opportunities!
