Chinese surgeons conduct remote surgery using 5G technology

Beijing, June 11 

Doctors in China have successfully directed surgeons 200 km away to perform a gall bladder surgery using 5G network in a remote area, official media here reported on Tuesday.

The laparoscopic cholecystectomy was conducted last week in north China’s Hubei Province which lasted about an hour, China Mobile which is one of the four telecom firms to have received the licence to rollout 5G on June 6, said.  

The surgery, where a 5G Internet connection enabled the entire process, was conducted in the Shennongjia forestry district branch of Taihe Hospital and was transmitted via live feed to an expert team in Taihe Hospital in the city of Shiyan.

Thanks to the 5G technology, there was almost no network delay, and the patient’s vital signs remained stable after the surgery, according to the surgical team, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

“5G technology guarantees the clarity and continuity of transmitted videos and photos. With the network, more doctors can cooperate to conduct surgeries regardless of their distance,” Gui Kunpeng, a senior official with China Mobile’s Hubei branch said.

China is implementing the 5G network to meet the public demand in sectors such as transportation, entertainment and health care, the report said.

So far, Hubei has built more than 300 5G base stations and achieved full 5G signal coverage in its prefecture-level cities, it said. 

China’s capital, Beijing has built 4,300 5G base stations in the city’s urban core areas and iconic buildings to implement the superfast technology as the Chinese government has begun issuing 5G licenses to telecom firms.  

5G is the next generation cellular technology with download speeds stated to be 10 to 100 times faster than the current 4G LTE networks. — PTI