First remote operation carried out using new network

A doctor in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, has become the first person in the world to complete animal surgery remotely using a 5G network.

Taking place on Dec 18, the operation saw a doctor manipulate a surgical robot 50 kilometers away to successfully remove the hepatic lobules of a small pig in illness.

The operation was carried out by Liu Rong, a surgeon from the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, while in the southeast research institute of telecom firm China Unicom, which provided the 5G network environment for the surgery.

Next to Liu, a huge screen clearly shows the red and white texture of the pig's liver under the endoscope. Another simultaneously displays the realtime video of the operating room.

With the help of high-definition video footage, Liu used several small finger rings to manipulate surgical forceps and electric knives 50 kilometers away. He could also communicate with the assistants in the operating room through audio and video.

In less than 10 minutes, a piece of the hepatic lobule was successfully removed and the wounds were tidied neatly. No trace of blood was seen in the whole process. Half an hour later, in the surgical tent of the Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University, the pig woke up from anesthesia.

Liu said the experience and capability of 5G is like having one's own private fiber optic network.

Meanwhile, Liu Jingfeng, president of the Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University, noted that remote surgeries have demanding requirements for bandwidth, reliability, and safety of wireless communication. Latency must also be extremely low to enable real-time responses, but the setup passed with flying colors.

"The success of this operation shows that 5G technology is completely feasible for telemedicine," Liu said.

Ouyang Enshan, general manager of China Unicom's Fujian provincial branch, said the technology could be a great leveler in the provision of healthcare.

"It allows us to see that high-quality medical resources can benefit more people, and no matter where they are, they can enjoy first-class medical services in the future," Ouyang said.

(China Daily 01/25/2019 page10)