{
  "abstract": "Purpose Transportation of human corneal tissue for transplantation must be swift and secure. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), offer a promising alternative to conventional car-based transportation, potentially reducing costs, traffic load, and environmental impact. After initially identifying necessary technical modifications and packaging adjustments, we proceeded with test flights to evaluate the effects of UAV-based transport on corneal tissue.Methods 20 pairs of human corneal tissue, not suitable for transplantation, were divided into two transport groups: UAV and car. The corneas were initially stored according to routine eye bank procedures in culture medium without dextran for 6 to 28 days (mean: 22.7 ± 5.6), following up to 6 days storage in dextran-containing culture medium (5% dextran 500) for corneal deswelling. Transport was performed 2 days after medium change. Corneal evaluations were conducted: pre-deswelling (TP1), post-deswelling (TP2), and one day post-transport (TP3). Quantitative and qualitative assessments of the central endothelial area (C) were performed using phase-contrast microscopy. The parameters evaluated included endothelial cell density (C-ECD), polymegethism (C-POL), pleomorphism (C-PLE), granulation (C-GRA), vacuolization (C-VAC), segmentation of cell membranes (C-SEG), folds of Descemet’s membrane (C-DF), Trypan blue-positive cells (C-TBPC), and endothelial cell-free areas (C-ECFA). The aim was to assess any differences between the two transport methods with respect to tissue integrity. Temperature and vibrations were monitored during transport.Results No significant differences in C-ECD were observed between TP1, TP2, and TP3 for either transport group. For the car group, mean C-ECD was 2125 ± 218 cells/mm² at TP1, 1939 ± 249 cells/mm² at TP2, and 1894 ± 241 cells/mm² at TP3. For the UAV group, mean C-ECD was 2126 ± 255 cells/mm² at TP1, 1925 ± 252 cells/mm² at TP2, and 1851 ± 296 cells/mm² at TP3. For the morphological criteria C-POL, C-PLE, C-GRA, C-VAC, C-SEG, C-DF, C-TBPC, and C-ECFA, no significant differences were observed between the groups at TP2 and TP3. Transport temperature and vibrations remained within the intended range.Conclusions Both transportation procedures show no adverse impact on corneal tissue. Thus, these findings support the viability of UAV-based corneal tissue transport as a safe, efficient alternative to conventional methods. Further studies will be conducted to ascertain the feasibility of the project under routine conditions, analyse economic aspects, and further develop technical aspects of the project, including adjustments to the flight system and development of thermal management solutions.Acknowledgments The study is part of the EULE (European UAV-assisted transport solutions for medical goods) project, funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) and the DOG (German Society of Ophthalmology). Ethical approval EK 22–445",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany",
        "Cornea Bank Aachen, Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Jonathan Felix Klett"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany",
        "Cornea Bank Aachen, Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Sabine Salla"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Anaesthesiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Andreas Follmann"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Anaesthesiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Veldeman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Matthias Fuest"
    }
  ],
  "title": "6.5. Update: flying human corneal tissues for transplantation – first data on corneal endothelial morphology and endothelial cell counts",
  "uid": "c571dc81-895a-5cd2-af87-0e54d1c087d2"
}