An Overview of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Public Good Applications: Patient Transport and Organ Transport

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) holds the promise of “public good” applications that would support governments in providing services to citizens. This research identified a set of 59 potential applications and used a structured down-selection process to guide the choice of two for deeper analysis: Patient Transport using an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicle and Organ Transport using an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). These applications demonstrate strong potential for federal support and integration in the United States (U.S.), particularly within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The anticipated implementation timeframe is “near term” (within ~5 years), based on current regulatory, commercialization, and integration progress by AAM Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Key end users of these applications include public and private healthcare systems, Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), medical networks, and rural or semi-urban patient populations. Key potential benefits include reduced travel time, improved transplant outcomes, lower operating expenses compared to traditional air transport, and enhanced access to care for underserved populations. We identify implementation challenges and provide an initial cost assessment of each application. We propose avenues for future work, providing an example of aircraft sizing for the patient transport application as an example. Our recommendations include that AAM stakeholders establish pilot programs at select VA facilities, initially using existing helipads and airports, with plans to scale as technologies and regulations mature. Collaboration with AAM OEMs will be essential to identify integration requirements, including charging infrastructure, vehicle handling characteristics for both patient and organ transport, and pathways for future regulatory compliance.