India, July 16 -- image credit- freepik

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), under its flagship i-drone initiative, has demonstrated that drone-assisted transportation of sputum samples of tuberculosis (TB) can significantly improve access to diagnostic services for people living in remote and underserved areas.

These findings have emerged from a programme-based study conducted under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) in collaboration with AIIMS Bibinagar and the District TB Office in Yaddry-Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana.

The study compared the traditional system of patients' visits for TB diagnosis to a drone-based model, in which sputum samples were collected from primary health centres (PHCs) and sub-centres ...