5G And The NHS

5G mobile networking can be used to help NHS save millions of pounds.

16:31 05 June 2017

The advent of 5G mobile networking and associated technological innovation could pave the way for new modes of clinical practice that could help bring down costs for the NHS, Prokar Dasgupta, one of UK leading surgeons, have said.

 

Dr Dasgupta, who pioneered the use of surgical robotics at Guys Hospital in 2002, said that the cost of robotics in medicine was coming down. He made the statement during a demonstration of how 5G could enable more precise robotic techniques to be used in the operating theatre at King’s College London.

 

“There is a new generation of robots coming that will be cheaper, the same price as keyhole surgery or even traditional surgery,” he said.

 

He added that the use of 5G networking could also help solve financial problems being faced by the NHS. He explained that the technology would allow surgeons to remotely control robots being used in surgery which results in saving travel costs not just for patients but also for specialists. Meanwhile, the use of wearables for remote monitoring over ultrafast mobile networks will allow patients to stay in their homes longer.

 

“It completely changes the way a surgeon like me can interact with a robot or see in real time what is happening with our patients,” said Dasgupta.