China has just performed the world’s first remote brain surgery using 5G technology, with the patient located 3,000 kilometers away from the operating surgeon.
The surgeon who carried out this historic procedure was Dr. Ling Zhipei, Chief Physician at the Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital in Beijing.
On March 16, 2019, Dr. Ling implanted a deep brain stimulation device into a patient’s brain. The operation took place in Hainan, while Dr. Ling remained in Beijing, 3,000 km away.
The surgery lasted three hours and was completed successfully. The patient, who has Parkinson’s disease, was reported to feel well after this first-ever remote brain surgery.
Dr. Ling used a computer connected to a 5G mobile network developed by Huawei. According to him, the new technology enables an almost real-time connection:
“You can hardly feel that the patient is 3,000 kilometers away.”
Traditional 4G networks cannot support such procedures due to video lag and delays in remote instrument control. The new 5G system appears to have solved these issues, Dr. Ling noted.
Healthcare institutions around the world have conducted a number of experiments in robotic tele-surgery—most famously the U.S. da Vinci Surgical System. However, these technologies have yet to achieve significant commercial impact due to performance limitations.
Remote surgery has the potential to help patients in remote, impoverished areas, as well as those in conflict zones, by giving them immediate access to leading specialists. With its high bandwidth and ultra-low latency, 5G technology finally makes such procedures possible.