French startup joins expanding global drone deliveries of patient analysis samples to hospitals

A French tech startup is to looking to speed the processing of medical analyses – and resulting treatment – by delivering patient samples between medical facilities using drones for a group of hospitals in the country’s Normandy region.

Based in the Norman city of Rouen, drone services company Délivrone has been carrying out test flights in the northwest area of France this month as part of its effort to join the growing activity of delivering analysis samples to hospital labs by drone. The current project looks to cover the 41-kilometer distance between facilities in the cities of Maubeuge and Valenciennes using UAVs to halve 45-minute travel time by road.

With trials continuing toward a planned launch early next year, the Maubeuge-Valenciennes patient sample delivery route is one of several drone transport proposals Délivrone is working on with hospitals in Normandy and the North regions of France. 

Using a mix of quadcopter,…