DEMYSTIFYING 5G | 5G’S POTENTIAL FOR HEALTHCARE

In previous blogs, we talked about 5G being the fifth generation of wireless protocols and that the big benefits it brings are faster speeds and improved latency (the time it takes to transfer data). What does that mean for specific markets? Let’s take a look at healthcare.

TRANSMISSION OF LARGE DATA FILES

When you have an MRI or a PET scan, there are really, really large data files to be transferred from the imaging facility to your doctor. The doctor and the imaging facility may not be on that same internal network, so those transmissions take a long time. Delay in test results could mean delay in care. 5G is going to make it possible to send those files, maybe not instantaneously, but within minutes certainly. It provides the opportunity to significantly speed up results which means treatment decisions can be made sooner and patient care improved.

TELEMEDICINE

Telemedicine has been around for several years but many of us experienced our first telemedicine appointment in 2020 due to the pandemic and trying to do as much virtually as possible. The use of telemedicine was already expected to increase over the next five years, but COVID-19 has significantly sped up that timeline. The increased data speeds of 5G and its ultra-low latency, meaning no lag in the data being sent back and forth to your doctor, is going to enable expansion of the telemedicine market and make it easier for us to access our doctor remotely.

REAL-TIME PATIENT MONITORING

Real-time patient monitoring is going to be improved with 5G. This is going to improve how our doctors can monitor our well-being, even from a distance. Once example of this may be wearable medical devices. Let's say you're an at-risk patient for heart disease and your doctor has given you a wearable monitor. You're out for a walk and you start to have a heart attack. This monitor would be able to notify your doctor in real time and send an ambulance to your specific location. It can save minutes and possibly even hours in the time it takes to receive care. That's going to result in saving lives!

If you’d like to read more about 5G in healthcare, check out this information from Ericsson: https://www.ericsson.com/en/networks/trending/insights-and-reports/5g-healthcare.

---

This post is part of a series of posts about 5G. Other posts discuss benefits, risks, the potential uses for different markets and how to prepare your business for 5G. Please follow and share on social media so you don’t miss any posts! If you’d like to read previous posts: https://www.ermco.com/single-post/demystifying-5g-what-is-it https://www.ermco.com/single-post/demystifying-5g-benefits-risks

---

For more information on how ERMCO can help with an integrated systems solution, contact:

PJ DONOVAN | 317.538.5511 | pdonovan@ermco.com

PJ Donovan is the Business Development Manager for ERMCO’s Systems Group. She’s been with ERMCO for 10 years and has been in the Systems Group the entire time, as a Systems Coordinator and then Systems Estimator. Now she helps maintain and grow client relationships and serves as one of ERMCO’s experts on all things systems-related from A/V and access control to security and wireless systems.