Imagine a future where drone-delivered medications or medical testing kits appear at your doorstep, just like packages ordered online.
More than 100 million Americans live with one or more chronic illnesses – from arthritis to heart disease. Many of these patients live in rural areas with limited access to specialists, hospitals and other medical facilities.
Gino Lim, chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering, envisions a future where drones can be used as envoys between patients and healthcare providers – delivering medication, picking up urine or other samples and, perhaps, even providing basic diagnostics.
He recently attended the INFORMS annual meeting and shared his ideas on the organization’s monthly podcast series, "Resoundingly Human." The podcast highlights how operational research and analytics can be used to solve many complex problems in the world today.
Lim’s portion of the program was titled “Drone-Aided Healthcare Services for Patients with Chronic Diseases in Rural areas.” His research work focuses on developing mathematical models and computational algorithms in two primary areas – healthcare and homeland security.
INFORMS, with more than 12,500 worldwide members, is the leading international association for professionals in operations research and analytics.
To hear the podcast, visit the INFORMS site.