Globally, more than one billion people lack access to all-weather roads. This reality creates a myriad of challenges when seeking healthcare, including arduous walks to reach health clinics and a frequent need to return for continued health monitoring. When faced with these roadblocks, patients become discouraged and often abandon life-saving treatment.

At the Stony Brook University Global Health Institute, we propose using new drone technology to gain access to some of the world’s most inaccessible people in remote villages of Madagascar. Our goal is to facilitate the transportation of medical supplies, eliminating the need for patients to embark on the otherwise fatiguing journey to health clinics. While innovative, the system will fit seamlessly into the government’s current healthcare system, supplementing existing efforts to provide widespread care. We believe the use of drones will help us provide patient-centric care to thousands of people, helping us reach the unreachable.

Principal Investigator: 

Peter Small, MD

Senior Researcher:

Jesse McKinney

Post-doctoral Fellows:

Simon Grandjean Lapierre

Astrid Knoblauch

Kunchok Dorjee

Joe Brew

Medical Students:

Liana Langdon-Embry

Emile Redwood

Annabelle Jones

Benjamin Schwarz

Researchers:

Ian Passe

Elyseé Nouvet