5G technology across the United States has started to become a cellular standard in many metro cities, and will be soon up and running in your hometown hospital.
To start- what is 5G? 5G is the fifth generation of wireless tech. Users will see quicker downloads, little lag, and it could have a significant impact on how we live, work, and play. This new connectivity has the potential to make business more efficient and give users access to more information, all much faster than before.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital located in Palo Alto, California is slated to be the first hospital to utilize 5G technology.
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie explained, "VA will now have the first 5G hospital in America. As I speak, Palo Alto is about to become the first 5G-enabled health facility in the world and should be operational this year," with some parts of the system already online.
5G is expected to deliver, "richer, more detailed, three-dimensional images of the patient's anatomy with resolution so clear and consistent that it will give us reliable use of important telesurgery services to veterans across the nation," Wilkie said.
With 5G technology, healthcare would see much higher resolution and faster download speeds, which would benefit many areas and would allow the VA to expand its use of telehealth in attempt to reach veterans located in rural areas.
The technology will allow medical professionals the ability to, "look at a patient and look below the incision line to guide a surgeon in ways that have never been possible," Wilkie said.
Wilkie also pointed out that they hope to see decreased wait times for appointments, better care overall, and are even looking to roll out a new program that would develop an exoskeleton that can simulate a spinal cord
allowing for injured veterans to walk again under their own power.
Interested in learning more about 5G? Check out this blog.
Sources:
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/va-set-open-fully-5g-enabled-hospital-california
About the Author: Taylor Genter Taylor is the Marketing Specialist at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.