The possibilities that 5G technology will offer us will be endless. We only know a small part of what it will allow to do. And in Barcelona, at MWC19, we were able to see one of them live: the first tele-assisted operation in history with 5G.
Yes. In Barcelona, within the framework of this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) we have been able to see live, (although the most apprehensive have not been able to do so since the images were a bit harsh), the first teasisted operation of the history with 5G technology. We had already seen in other editions of the MWC how it was possible to remotely, with advanced networks, for example driving a vehicle 150 kilometers away from a specific place. And even in this edition of the most important technology fair held in Europe, we have been able to attend other demonstrations such as the one carried out by Telefónica with its esports team Movistar Riders to make sure that with 5G, high speeds and low latencies are a competitive advantage for gamers.
But what the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona has done with a Telestration AIS Channel solution and the 5G network of Vodafone in Barcelona goes beyond a mere demonstration of the use cases of this technology, which will allow, among other things, connectivity smart. “It means”, as John Hoffman, CEO of the GSMA, has commented, a “milestone for medicine” and also opens up new paths in clinical practice. Tele-training with expert surgeons will allow an improvement in surgical practices in the future, since it makes it possible to carry out a knowledge transfer of the training surgeon. In addition, the expert surgeon and his team will be able to remotely monitor the implementation of the procedures, which will mean a real democratization of knowledge and advances in surgery. Thanks to the solution created by AIS Channel, any operating room in the world will be able to become remote, even reaching points of difficult access.
This pilot project, baptized as ‘5G remote surgeon’, has been promoted within the framework of 5G Barcelona, an initiative promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Barcelona City Council, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, the Telecommunications Technological Center of Catalonia (CTTC), Atos and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) to turn the city into a 5G digital hub of European reference. In addition, it has had the support and collaboration of the GSMA, the main association of manufacturers and operators of mobile telecommunications.
From the MWC19 Barcelona venue, a medical team led by Dr. Antonio de Lacy, head of the Gastrointestinal Surgery Service at Hospital Clínic and promoter of the ‘ Telestration’ solution, has guided the operation carried out in Óptimus, the most advanced operating room in the world, located in Hospital Clínic. Thanks to the 5G network, this pioneering operating room not only records its activity in audiovisual format and from all possible angles, but can also send that information in real time outside the operating room. This process is possible through the Telestration solution from AIS Channel, the world’s leading online platform for medical education and a pioneer in tele-training of surgeons.
This was highlighted during the presentation of the pilot test by Dr. Antonio de Lacy: “The possibility of connecting operating rooms and surgeons remotely is one more step in the mission of democratizing medical education worldwide, with the enormous social and health benefits that this entails. It doesn’t matter who you are or what financial possibilities you have, the important thing is to provide the best possible care to all patients ”.
5G is in this case, and in many others that will be implemented when there are commercial networks deployed from the second half of this year, and to a greater extent in 2020, the key technology. The ‘5G connected surgeon’ project has made it possible to address latency, a critical factor for the application of technological solutions to the health sector. Taking advantage of 5G ultra high definition capabilities, high bandwidth and real-time responsiveness, high definition images and large amounts of information can be shared without latency. In this way, you can seamlessly connect with various specialists from around the world and allow them to collaborate during surgical operations. This marks a before and after in the application of technology to the healthcare field.
