SW China province adopts 5G-assisted remote medical consultation

CHENGDU -- Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, conducted remote medical consultation using 5G wireless technology on Tuesday.

Via a 5G network, experts from West China Hospital under Sichuan University received the test results of patients from two hospitals in the Longquanyi District of Chengdu and the city of Suining, respectively. They gave advice and relevant operation guidance during the real-time remote medical consultation.

Li Weimin, president of the West China Hospital, said it is very important to have clear pictures and real-time conversation for remote medical consultation.

Due to the previous inefficient network, it used to be difficult to popularize remote medical consultation, Li said.

Now, the 5G network can accelerate the speed of data transmission, sending electronic medical records, radiological images and pathological examination reports from hospitals in less developed areas to doctors at reputed hospitals, according to Li.

It was the first time such a consultation was conducted with 5G technologies in Sichuan. In the future, the province will explore using 5G network to achieve remote real-time guidance of surgery in rural areas.