Synnovis and autonomous logistics company Apian have expanded their partnership to increase the use of drones and autonomous robotics for pathology logistics in London.
The agreement follows a pilot that was launched in 2024, which transported more than 6,000 pathology samples by drone between Synnovis laboratories at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in south-east London.
Synnovis is a partnership between medical diagnostics and testing company Synlab UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
From this autumn, Apian will deploy Matternet drones to carry urgent samples from Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital to the Synnovis Blackfriars laboratory hub for specialist testing. The Blackfriars hub processes around 20,000 samples a day.
Initial flights will include bone marrow samples used to diagnose and monitor blood disorders such as acute leukaemia, including samples from paediatric patients at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
“Extending our drone network will help us ensure we get the right samples, to the right place, at the right time to support clinicians and their patients when they need it most,” said Professor Dominic Harrington, chief scientific officer at Synlab UK & Ireland.
The partnership will also explore applications for robotics, AI and autonomous logistics across Synnovis and Synlab Group.
Earlier this summer, Apian announced that it was working with Wing to expand South West London Pathology’s drone delivery network to three additional hospitals and additional GP and community healthcare facilities.
Urban deliveries will be a central theme at Urban Logistics, taking place at ExCeL London on 9-10 June 2027.
To find out more information, visit: urbanlogisticsexhibition.com
