World's First 5G-Enabled Remote-Assisted Surgery Successfully Performed at MWC 2019

The annual Mobile World Congress (hereinafter referred to as “MWC 2019”) was held from February 25 to 28 at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. As the most influential exhibition in the global communications sector, MWC attracted over 100,000 attendees, with numerous telecommunications and technology companies showcasing their latest innovations.

At MWC 2019, the world’s first remotely assisted surgery conducted via 5G technology was successfully performed on-site. Dr. Antonio De Lacy, the Spanish surgeon who provided remote assistance, stated that this milestone signifies that next-generation wireless technology has taken a critical step toward enabling robot-assisted telesurgery in the medical field.

In the past, physicians performed remote surgeries using wireless networks; however, ultra-fast 5G technology has enhanced image quality and clarity, which is critical for medical teams to make clinical decisions with minimal error.

“This is the first step toward realizing our dream: performing remote surgeries in the near future.” At the Barcelona Convention Center, Antonio De Lacy, Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery at a hospital located 5 kilometers (3 miles) away, provided remote surgical guidance via 5G video link to treat a patient with an intestinal tumor at that facility.

At the conference venue, Antonio De Lacy used his hand to draw on the screen of a remote controller, marking the areas where nerves are located in the patient's intestines, and guided the team on how to perform the surgery.

“5G has significantly reduced the latency of wireless networks (i.e., the time required to respond to a transmitted message), enabling near-instantaneous transmission of images and data from the surgical site. This makes real-time remote assistance feasible,” said Antonio De Lacy. “I can highlight the area requiring intervention on my screen, and the annotation appears simultaneously on their screens. Prior to 5G, we had to freeze the image to make annotations, but since the surgeons continued operating, the guidance provided was of limited practical value.”

It is reported that during surgical procedures, the latency of 5G networks was only 0.01 seconds, compared to 0.27 seconds for 4G wireless networks, which currently dominate in developing countries. The speed and reliability of 5G mean there is virtually no latency between devices and the servers they communicate with, enabling Antonio De Lacy to draw on the screen in real time.

“If you are to perform remote-assisted surgery, you need to be physically present, and the latency must not exceed a few milliseconds. This is precisely where 5G technology comes into play,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA.

John Hoffman, CEO of the mobile communications industry organization GSMA, stated, “This is the world’s first 5G-guided live surgery, which is revolutionary. Of course, this is just one of the benefits that 5G brings us.”

5G can be up to 100 times faster than 4G, and its low latency, ultra-high speed, and massive data capacity help power autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, smart cities, and networked robots. Healthcare is another area with significant potential.

Experts predict that future 5G technology will enable surgeons to control robotic arms to perform surgeries in remote areas lacking specialized medical professionals.

(Compiled by Cheng Xiaoqin)