5G technology is saving patients' lives at a medical center in Bangkok. Siriraj Hospital is the first in Southeast Asia to use 5G to get real-time information on victims' conditions in road accidents, treat complex diseases, and care for patients at home. Martin Lowe tells us how it all works.

An elderly woman has collapsed. A nurse at the scene suspects a stroke. In the past the best she could do would be telephone a doctor for advice. But now ambulance staff are equipped with 5G bodycams giving specialists back at the hospital clear sight and sound of the patient's symptoms. The stroke is confirmed, and the woman's life is saved.

This time it's a motorcycle accident. The doctor can hear through the bodycam's microphone that the patient has difficulty breathing. The casualty is quickly routed to a trauma hospital.

Remote diagnosis via high-definition video is one of the major benefits of a range of 5G systems now in use at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, the first in Southeast Asia to install such a system.

In a pilot project involving the hospital, Chinese telecom leader Huawei and Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, nine applications are being trailed in the use of 5G, the Cloud and Artificial Intelligence.

DR. PRASIT WATANAPA Dean of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital "We treat 8,000 to 10,000 patients a day, their sicknesses are becoming more complex. Previously everyone had to come to us but some were unable to, so we have to move forward and to do so we need digital technology. Medicine is a race against time."

On the screen is a picture of a cell infected by cancer. At a touch the representation can be enlarged. It's so detailed this one image needs a file as big as two full-length feature films. Only 5G has the data capacity to drive this type of technology.

Not only is it clearer and easier to see than looking through a microscope, the digital image can be sent anywhere it's needed. Other systems include this 5G self-driving car delivering medicine around the wards 24 hours a day. Whatever's dispensed is recorded digitally so stocks can be replaced.

Here, a telephone application allows diabetic patients to upload a wide range of information from home: including blood pressure, heart rate and sugar levels; even photos of what they eat.

DR. PRASIT WATANAPA Dean of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital "I believe this is not only for hospitals, one day it will be in patients' homes and mobile phones – so everyone will be safe from sickness and disease."

MARTIN LOWE Bangkok "All of these applications are designed to make diagnosis easier, quicker and more accurate. Meaning in the future the correct treatment can be started much sooner than before."

The hospital intends to keep developing new processes. In collaboration with Huawei researchers, staff are working on 30 more applications – in the future it's hoped to digitally connect with hospitals across Thailand, launching a new era in patient care right across the country. Martin Lowe, CGTN, Bangkok.