The application of 5G in the medical field has become a reality.

Doctors at West China Hospital of Sichuan University – one of the most prestigious medical centers in the country – has started using 5G technology to diagnose COVID-19 patients in Sichuan Province. 

Li Zhenlin, the Deputy Director of the Radiology Department at the hospital has remotely diagnosed 17 patients so far. The process for each patient takes just about five minutes, he said. 

"Through remote 5G transmissions, we are able to control the CT scanners in remote hospitals, from a far distance, on a real-time basis," he told CGTN. 

"We can standardize our checks and the quality of these diagnoses across the board, to prevent unnecessary repeated examinations. More importantly, we can optimize the image quality and doses of radiation released on the patient."

Li said CT scans prove highly effective in diagnosing patients with no symptoms. "If the patient is found to have the virus at an early stage, we can then isolate him or her to prevent further spread."

That said, Li emphasized that CT scans play a supplementary role to diagnosing coronavirus patients, and it has to be done alongside a nucleic acid test, which is the benchmark test for the coronavirus. 

West China Hospital first conducted remote CT scans on three COVID-19 patients on February 24. The patients were located in a hospital in Ganzi, a Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture over 700 kilometers away.  

In the course of the next few days, the hospital began to perform more remote scans. On February 27, Li attended to another 10 patients.  

"Medical personnel on the front line are very tired. After going home from shifts, they have to self-isolate for 14 days. Through a 5G-aided remote diagnosis, we can reduce the number of high-level senior medical experts in conducting the CT scan, thereby reducing their potential risk of infection," Li shared. 

"With a remote examination, we can bring down a team of say, six a day, by half, as we only need someone to help place the patient under the scan."

Thus far, West China Hospital has also offered remote consultation to COVID-19 patients in severe conditions in Hubei Province.  

Li said there are plans to expand the hospital's services to the epicenter of the outbreak – beyond just consultation, to diagnosis – but it depends on the 5G coverage network in Wuhan, among other factors.

(Video filmed by Wu Siyi)