乌鸦传媒

Amazon Basin, 2030

Maria slowly regains consciousness, thoughts and sensations circling her like the mosquitos outside her net. She feels weakness and cold. She feels pain in her stomach. She feels sadness, remembering her mother lying helpless on this same cot a decade earlier. She also feels gratefulness and calm. Maria knows that 鈥� unlike her mother 鈥� she鈥檚 going to be seen by an experienced doctor. She鈥檚 going to be fine. In her pocket she holds a lifeline to the rest of the world.

Today, worldwide

Healthcare stats around the world are hard to look at. In 2020, under five were stunted by malnutrition. Every day die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries. All told, around spend at least 10% of their household budgets on health expenses. For almost 100 million people these expenses are high enough to tip them over the edge into extreme poverty.

Advances in medical technology are stunning, but for much of the world鈥檚 population, the key is access. This begins with the ability to consult with specialized doctors. Telemedicine has skyrocketed in use over the past few years, but it is still quite limited. Doctors are unable to see or touch their patients, so they rely on self reporting. (Video calls can help, but quality is lacking, even in the most technologically advanced parts of the world.) 5G is about to change this.

Sao Paulo, 2030

Doctor Oliviera answers a call, bringing her face to face with Maria via her screen. Also visible on her screen are Maria鈥檚 medical files, with key data sorted to the top. An AI has already taken a stab at diagnosis, drawing together Maria鈥檚 symptoms, history, family history and regional data. Dr. Oliviera sees three likely possibilities: intestinal blockage, urinary tract infection, or appendicitis. She slides her hands into her pair of IoT-enabled gloves, all the while talking Maria through the examination. A nurse by Maria鈥檚 side is also wearing gloves; she has been trained to work with distant doctors, and to help them examine patients. The nurse puts her hands on Maria鈥檚 abdomen, and Dr. Oliviera can feel the swelling. She turns on the gloves鈥� ultrasound and looks inside. The AI was right 鈥� Maria鈥檚 appendix will have to come out.

Maria鈥檚 village clinic isn鈥檛 fit for surgery, so she is taken to the nearest town with a clinic containing an operating room. She is checked in automatically (their system predicted she was coming the moment the diagnosis was made.) Maria鈥檚 waiting room greets her with her favorite song, and a digital photo of her family is hanging on the wall. When the operating room is ready, the procedure is carried out by a surgeon in Chicago 鈥� who specializes in appendectomies for patients around the world 鈥� with the help of an IoT-enabled surgical robot. His speech is translated automatically to the local surgical assistant. An hour later Maria is back in 鈥渉er鈥� room. While Maria is sedated the digital photo of her family comes to life 鈥� on the screen by her bedside her family is there, waiting for her.

How 5G makes this possible

Many of the technologies in this example are already in development. It is possible today to feel at a distance, as the doctor鈥檚 gloves did. 5G will enhance the precision, and bring the cost down dramatically. Remote surgeries are already taking place, but again, the cost is significant. 5G will make remote surgery as routine as making a phone call. But perhaps the most exciting area of research is to be found in the synergy of 5G and AI. After all, AI thrives on data, and 5G is, at its essence, a way of transmitting vast amounts of data at light speed (literally). If anything, the use cases described above are conservative. Perhaps in the future personal home-care devices will become so ubiquitous that emergencies such as Maria鈥檚 will simply be prevented. We鈥檙e entering an era of 5G-driven connected medicine that will fundamentally change healthcare.

But what brings me the most hope for the future is access. Access by the world鈥檚 most in need, to the specialists best able to provide care. Access by doctors to each other鈥檚 research and assistance. Access to donor lists, medicines and equipment. And access to loved ones at a moment鈥檚 notice. 5G is bringing more than a new era of medicine. It鈥檚 bringing all of us closer.

乌鸦传媒 works on the forefront of 5G and connected health technologies. In fact, together with Verizon and additional technology leaders we鈥檝e recently opened a connected healthcare technology center in Kent, UK, showcasing some of the incredible advances in 5G-enabled healthcare being developed. You can read more about it . To learn how you can be a part of the new world of 5G-enabled healthcare, contact me below.

Telco乌鸦传媒 is a series of posts about the latest trends and opportunities in the telecommunications industry 鈥� powered by a community of global industry experts and thought leaders.