5G Technology Helps Paramedics Diagnose Medical Issues
5G technology could allow paramedics to diagnose medical problems more quickly, experts say, with the help of a "robo-glove" that can carry out remote-controlled ultrasound scans in an ambulance, or at the scene of an accident, according to a news report.
Demonstrated by physicians in the UK last week, the glove can conduct a scan and send real-time results to a clinician at a hospital, in turn, allowing the clinician to move the glove with a joystick and operate over a public 5G network. The glove works by creating small vibrations to direct the paramedic's hand to where the clinician wants the ultrasound sensor to be moved. A camera assists by transmitting a view of the paramedic and the patient to the clinician.
"The superfast speeds of 5G ensure sharper and more reliable imagery for the clinician than could previously be achieved," according to University Hospitals Birmingham, which has worked on the technology alongside telecoms company BT and delivery consortium West Midlands 5G.
"5G has the potential to help us provide better care, at the patient's side, and provide increasingly diverse treatment plans for patients," Craig Cooke, Strategic Operations Director at the West Midlands Ambulance Service, added in a statement.
Despite privacy concerns over the involvement of Chinese company Huawei in the process, Britain is moving toward implementing 5G and some mobile carriers have begun trials in certain regions across the UK.
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