How 5G will make healthcare AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE

After some great work with AI/ML, GE Healthcare’s India engineers will lead 5G innovation

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Hospital beds and equipment now have a lot of wires around them that transmit patient data. Reliability and security of data, and speed of data transmission are critical in healthcare. Wires ensure that. But now, 5G comes with a level of reliability, speed and security far superior to 4G, and will allow many of those wires to be dispensed with. That opens up a range of possibilities.

It’s the reason why the $18-billion GE Healthcare recently established its first global 5G innovation lab at its R&D centre in Bengaluru. Jan Makela, CEO of the imaging business, says it is a big investment, and accelerates all their product teams into 5G. “The idea is to try out ideas and think about the products to be launched using 5G,” he says.

The company’s engineers in India have already done great work with AI/ ML. Now, they will lead the company’s 5G innovations.

Today, the machine that scans your body, for instance, is also the one that crunches the data and gives you a picture on the machine. 5G, Makela says, will allow you to send the data to the cloud, where the picture would be instantly created and sent back. “So, you could make the scanning machine much simpler and cheaper,” he says. Which means, MRI and CT machines could be available in more hospitals, and remote locations.