Birmingham NHS Trust showcases ‘real-world’ 5G impact on public services
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), BT and WM5G have demonstrated the UK’s first remote-controlled ultrasound scan over a public 5G network.
The demonstration was hosted by the Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC) in UHB’s prestigious simulation lab located in the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Birmingham.
It brought the concept of a 5G Connected Ambulance to life and provides new technologies to front-line staff to create a facility for patients to be diagnosed and triaged in the most appropriate settings.
The demonstration follows a decision by Government to select the West Midlands as the UK’s first multi-city 5G test bed.
“This is a real-world example of how 5G will support digital transformation in the delivery of public services,” it said. “It is one example of how activities which can only be performed in static environments today can become mobile tomorrow and which will enable care delivery to be streamlined.”
The demonstration simulated a paramedic in the field performing an ultrasound scan on a patient, under the remote guidance of a clinician who is able to interpret the ultrasound image in real-time.
As well as speeding up diagnoses for patients, it has the potential to reduce the number of ambulance journeys and emergency department visits.
This, UHB said, would improve the overall experience for patients while freeing up ambulance resources and reducing pressure on emergency departments.
Faster diagnoses can also assist in triaging patients, ensuring more effective outcomes for the patient, and increasing overall efficiency for the hospital.
“We are immensely excited about the potential of 5G to support transformation in healthcare,” said Tim Jones, Chief Innovation Officer at UHB. “As a Global Digital Exemplar, we are always looking into new technologies and how we can use them to improve patient care. 5G will help us to roll out this next generation of healthcare technologies.”
He added that in future clinicians would be able to deliver holistic specialist advice in real time, potentially forming virtual multi-disciplinary teams to provide the best patient care using intelligent IT links.
As part of the multi-million-pound project WM5G was set up by the West Midlands Combined Authority and DCMS to develop a large scale 5G pilot across the region to trail new 5G applications and service at scale.
Along with BT’s EE, the mobile arm switching parts of Birmingham on to the UK’s first 5G services, WM5G are illustrating how the technology can deliver significant benefits to the West Midlands region.
