The establishment, practicing and future of a 5G-based emergency medical rescue system / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

The advantages of 5G communication, including large bandwidth, low latency and wide connection, and rapid transmission, have proved to be vital in facilitating emergency medical rescue. On June 17th, 2019, an earthquake occurred in Channing, Yibin, Sichuan Province. Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital initiated the Emergency Medical Rescue System for the rescue operation in the disastrous area. This was the first use of 5G emergency medical rescue worldwide. Remote consultations, injury assessments and helicopter transfers were carried out for the critical patients. Our rescue system have been effective and efficient in rapid responding, information transmission and the coordination of medical resources, which has led to the best possible medical decisions and treatments. However, there were challenges found in the application of this system the stability of 5G signal, the optimization of the configuration of 5G ambulances, and the survival rate and self guarantee in the field. In conclusion, this practice of 5G emergency medical system provides a new paradigm and valuable experiences for the improvements in disaster rescue in China and worldwide.