Chengdu, February 25 (People.cn, Wang Jun) --Yesterday, the Radiology Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, performed remote CT scanning of 3 COVID-19 patients in Ganzi Prefecture with 5G dual gigabit + remote CT Scan Assistant, providing strong diagnosis and treatment support for patients. This is the first case of medical examination for COVID-19 through remote CT in China, meaning that telemedicine will gradually transit from traditional “consultation” mode to “hands-on action” mode.

The 5G dual gigabit network and remote technology used in this case are expected to be promoted and applied in the subsequent epidemic responses, and will play an important role in remote areas.

5G technology helps remote consultation

In Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, various problems in the fight against COVID-19 are encountered due to its remote geographical location and scarce medical resources. The data shows that as of 00:00 on February 24, a total of 527 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Sichuan, involving 21 cities (prefectures), of which 69 cases are diagnosed in Ganzi Prefecture, second only to Chengdu.

China Telecom, teamed with Siemens Healthineers, creates an upgraded version of WCH 5G Remote Consultation based on 5G dual gigabit network. It has functions of one-click access, cloud checking, quality control by scanning, efficient interaction, and remote training and teaching, which allow experts to examine patients in Ganzi, 300 km away from Chengdu.

Luo Ning, Technical Director of Sichuan Telecom 5G Office, said that the current CT image data storage size of a single patient is about 700M. For convenience and real-time performance, 5G technology is needed. 5G networks boast the characteristic of low latency, thus it's particularly suitable for such remote precision operation since it meets the requirements of real-time accuracy. At the same time, its slicing technique can prioritize the transmission of such important information by isolating it from ordinary data, hence ensuring the security and stability of operation controls.

Unlike previous remote consultation system, this system adopts designated control terminals and cameras to obtain various data of the remote CT device and patient’s image respectively, and then transmits the data to the experts in WCH in real time through 5G telecommunications. With the “remote desktop”, experts can not only see all the images and data on the same screen with a computer, but also remotely control the CT equipment in real time, which is good for accurate diagnosis. The system can be called Remote Consultation 2.0. In this way, it provides effective medical means for subsequent epidemic prevention and control, and is expected to be promoted and applied in epidemic response.

Improved availability of medical resources

The patient’s CT scan data in Ganzi was transmitted to WCH without any delay, according to the reporter.

Xu Xiao, Sales Manager of Siemens Healthineers in Sichuan and Tibetan Area’s, said in previous remote consultation mode, the data were transmitted to West China Hospital for diagnosis after CT scan. But in fact, the accuracy of diagnosis counts on the equipment adjustment according to different situations of patients.

Li Zhenlin, Director of the Imaging Technology Division & Deputy Director of the Radiology Department, West China Hospital, said, “With 5G, we can directly operate CT equipment remotely. In addition to image data, we can also see the patient’s situation in real time. Its advantage is that if there is uncertainty about the scanned image, it can be confirmed immediately. Besides, we can also communicate with local doctors directly, which is conducive to more accurate judgment.” With this technology, West China Hospital could offer diagnosis and treatment for patients in remote areas. In this way, the expert resources are utilized effectively, thus medical treatment and epidemic prevention & control become more efficient and convenient.

During the epidemic, Sichuan Province has built the first 5G dual gigabit remote consultation system against COVID-19 in China, covering a total of 208 medical and health facilities at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. This attempt will not only apply effective medical methods to COVID-19 examination, but also provide better medical services to remote areas with backward medical capability as a strong support to the prevention and control of the epidemic in Sichuan.

This article is based on a report from People.cn.