Operation over the net: 5G could be the breakthrough for telemedicine. (Picture: Pexels)

The Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden starts with “5G4Healthcare” a multi-year research project on 5G in medicine. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure BMVI.

Medicine can benefit from 5G more than almost any other field: with its high transmission rates and significantly lower data transmission latency compared to the LTE network, 5G could be the breakthrough for telemedicine.

The professorship of the East Bavarian Technical University, OTH for short, Amberg-Weiden, which has now received funding for its “5G4Healthcare” research project, also believes in this. The aim of the researchers is to improve medical care not only in their own district, but also nationwide – especially in rural areas: Via 5G transmission in real time, doctors could, for example, monitor the condition of their patients remotely. And react immediately in an emergency. In order to make these projects a reality, the university is receiving funding of around 8.4 million euros from the BMVI.

Surgical interventions conceivable

5G also offers decisive opportunities in the hospital environment: With digitally networked operating theatres and wireless instruments, hospital procedures could be made more efficient and operations performed even faster. It would also be conceivable for physicians from different locations to work together directly on surgical procedures. Already in February, the first live surgery via a 5G network at the Mobile World Congress MWC in Barcelona caused a sensation.

Another plus point: 5G is the first mobile communications standard to enable the establishment of exclusive local campus networks. Although such a campus network is connected to the public mobile network, for example to communicate with external service providers, access from the public network to the campus network is not possible. Such a so-called “dual slice solution” could guarantee data security, especially in a clinical environment.

OTH Amberg-Weiden will initially focus its research on the cooperation between hospitals and general practitioners. The launch event for the “5G4Healthcare” project is planned for spring 2020.

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