The economic and operational value of using drones to transport vaccines
The economic and operational value of using drones to transport vaccines
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DOI：
10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.06.022
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发表时间：
2016-07-25
期刊：
影响因子：
5.5
通讯作者：
Lee, Bruce Y.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Haidari, Leila A.;Brown, Shawn T.;Lee, Bruce Y.
背景资料：低收入和中等收入国家（LMIC）的免疫接种计划在为需要的人提供挽救生命的疫苗方面面临着许多挑战。近年来，随着无人机（UAV）技术的发展，UAV的潜在用例已经激增，因为它们能够穿越困难的地形，减少劳动力，并取代需要昂贵维护的车队。使用HERMES生成的仿真模型，我们进行了敏感性分析，以评估使用无人机系统（UAS）的影响在反映地理、人口、道路条件和疫苗时间表变化的一系列情况下进行常规疫苗分发。我们还确定了无人机有效载荷和UAS成本的必要的UAS是有利的，在一个传统的多层陆地运输系统（TMLTS）。结果：实施UAS在基线方案提高疫苗的可用性（96%对94%），并产生物流成本节省0.08美元每剂管理相比，TMLTS。UAS在所有敏感性分析中保持了成本节约，每次给药的成本从0.05美元到0.21美元不等。对于不同的疫苗接种计划、UAS成本和测试的寿命，在TMLTS上实现成本节约所需的最小UAV有效载荷比目前假设的1.5 L UAV有效载荷小得多（高达0.40 L）。同样，在现实飞行条件下，可以比TMLTS节省的最大UAS成本大于当前假设的成本。结论：如果无人机的使用频率足以克服安装和维护系统的资本成本，则实施UAS可以在广泛的环境和情况下增加疫苗的可用性并降低成本。我们的计算模型表明，使用UAS节省成本的主要驱动因素是传统陆地车辆的道路速度，需要接种疫苗的人数以及需要行驶的距离。2016由Elsevier Ltd.出版
Background: Immunization programs in low and middle income countries (LMICs) face numerous challenges in getting life-saving vaccines to the people who need them. As unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has progressed in recent years, potential use cases for UAVs have proliferated due to their ability to traverse difficult terrains, reduce labor, and replace fleets of vehicles that require costly maintenance.Methods: Using a HERMES-generated simulation model, we performed sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for routine vaccine distribution under a range of circumstances reflecting variations in geography, population, road conditions, and vaccine schedules. We also identified the UAV payload and UAS costs necessary for a UAS to be favorable over a traditional multi-tiered land transport system (TMLTS).Results: Implementing the UAS in the baseline scenario improved vaccine availability (96% versus 94%) and produced logistics cost savings of $0.08 per dose administered as compared to the TMLTS. The UAS maintained cost savings in all sensitivity analyses, ranging from $0.05 to $0.21 per dose administered. The minimum UAV payloads necessary to achieve cost savings over the TMLTS, for the various vaccine schedules and UAS costs and lifetimes tested, were substantially smaller (up to 0.40 L) than the currently assumed UAV payload of 1.5 L. Similarly, the maximum UAS costs that could achieve savings over the TMLTS were greater than the currently assumed costs under realistic flight conditions.Conclusion: Implementing a UAS could increase vaccine availability and decrease costs in a wide range of settings and circumstances if the drones are used frequently enough to overcome the capital costs of installing and maintaining the system. Our computational model showed that major drivers of costs savings from using UAS are road speed of traditional land vehicles, the number of people needing to be vaccinated, and the distance that needs to be traveled. 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.