Communication Requirements in 5G-Enabled Healthcare Applications: Review and Considerations

Metaverse and Telementoring: From Surgery to Workshop

BACKGROUND

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has favored the growth of telemedicine systems and in this context the idea of Metaverse was born and developed. A 3D reality in which people can interact with each other through digital reproductions of themselves. Metaverse has already been tested in numerous medical fields due to its ability to combine visual and auditory information with tactile sensations. The purpose of this study is to highlight its potential also in its ability to be used as a telementoring place where the skills and knowledge of surgeons from all over the world can be combined.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The first HPB Surgery Workshop was held at the "Metaverse Surgical Hospital, USA". During the workshop, surgeons located in various parts of the world reported on hepatic, pancreatic and biliary tract surgery and remotely supported the execution of a robotic liver resection.

RESULTS

The Metaverse gave the opportunity for surgeons to meet and discuss HPB pathologies and its surgical strategies and for surgeons in training to interface with experts by participating in a moment of advanced training.

CONCLUSION

In the Metaverse, telementoring can be used at very low cost to improve clinical and surgical practice.

Barriers and Implications of 5G Technology Adoption for Hospitals in Western China: Integrated Interpretive Structural Modeling and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory Analysis

BACKGROUND

5G technology is gaining traction in Chinese hospitals for its potential to enhance patient care and internal management. However, various barriers hinder its implementation in clinical settings, and studies on their relevance and importance are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify critical barriers hampering the effective implementation of 5G in hospitals in Western China, to identify interaction relationships and priorities of the above-identified barriers, and to assess the intensity of the relationships and cause-and-effect relations between the adoption barriers.

METHODS

This paper uses the Delphi expert consultation method to determine key barriers to 5G adoption in Western China hospitals, the interpretive structural modeling to uncover interaction relationships and priorities, and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method to reveal cause-and-effect relationships and their intensity levels.

RESULTS

In total, 14 barriers were determined by literature review and the Delphi method. Among these, "lack of policies on ethics, rights, and responsibilities in core health care scenarios" emerged as the fundamental influencing factor in the entire system, as it was the only factor at the bottom level of the interpretive structural model. Overall, 8 barriers were classified as the "cause group," and 6 as the "effect group" by the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method. "High expense" and "organizational barriers within hospitals" were determined as the most significant driving barrier (the highest R-C value of 1.361) and the most critical barrier (the highest R+C value of 4.317), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Promoting the integration of 5G in hospitals in Western China faces multiple complex and interrelated barriers. The study provides valuable quantitative evidence and a comprehensive approach for regulatory authorities, hospitals, and telecom operators, helping them develop strategic pathways for promoting widespread 5G adoption in health care. It is suggested that the stakeholders cooperate to explore and solve the problems in the 5G medical care era, aiming to achieve the coverage of 5G medical care across the country. To our best knowledge, this study is the first academic exploration systematically analyzing factors resisting 5G integration in Chinese hospitals, and it may give subsequent researchers a solid foundation for further studying the application and development of 5G in health care.

Toward QoS Monitoring in IoT Edge Devices Driven Healthcare-A Systematic Literature Review

Smart healthcare is altering the delivery of healthcare by combining the benefits of IoT, mobile, and cloud computing. Cloud computing has tremendously helped the health industry connect healthcare facilities, caregivers, and patients for information sharing. The main drivers for implementing effective healthcare systems are low latency and faster response times. Thus, quick responses among healthcare organizations are important in general, but in an emergency, significant latency at different stakeholders might result in disastrous situations. Thus, cutting-edge approaches like edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) can deal with such problems. A packet cannot be sent from one location to another unless the "quality of service" (QoS) specifications are met. The term QoS refers to how well a service works for users. QoS parameters like throughput, bandwidth, transmission delay, availability, jitter, latency, and packet loss are crucial in this regard. Our focus is on the individual devices present at different levels of the smart healthcare infrastructure and the QoS requirements of the healthcare system as a whole. The contribution of this paper is five-fold: first, a novel pre-SLR method for comprehensive keyword research on subject-related themes for mining pertinent research papers for quality SLR; second, SLR on QoS improvement in smart healthcare apps; third a review of several QoS techniques used in current smart healthcare apps; fourth, the examination of the most important QoS measures in contemporary smart healthcare apps; fifth, offering solutions to the problems encountered in delivering QoS in smart healthcare IoT applications to improve healthcare services.

Exploring the Risks, Benefits, Advances, and Challenges in Internet Integration in Medicine With the Advent of 5G Technology: A Comprehensive Review

The integration of 5G technology in the healthcare sector is poised to bring about transformative changes, offering numerous advantages such as enhanced telemedicine services, expedited data transfer for medical records, improved remote surgery capabilities, real-time monitoring and diagnostics, advancements in wearable medical devices, and the potential for precision medicine. However, this technological shift is not without its concerns, including potential health implications related to 5G radiation exposure, heightened cybersecurity risks for medical devices and data systems, potential system failures due to technology dependence, and privacy issues linked to data breaches in healthcare. We are striking a balance between harnessing these benefits and addressing the associated risks. Achieving this equilibrium requires the establishment of a robust regulatory framework, ongoing research into the health impacts of 5G radiation, the implementation of stringent cybersecurity measures, education and training for healthcare professionals, and the development of ethical standards. The future of 5G in the medical field holds immense promise, but success depends on our ability to navigate this evolving landscape while prioritizing patient safety, privacy, and ethical practice.

5G-Enabled Healthcare in Mobile Scenarios: Challenges and Implementation Considerations

Wireless connectivity delay, disruption, or failure can significantly affect the performance of wireless-enabled medical devices, which in turn causes potential risks to the patient. Notably, the challenges related to connectivity provisioning are exacerbated in the fifth-generation (5G)-enabled healthcare use cases where mobility is utilized. In this article, we describe relevant 5G-enabled healthcare use cases involving mobility and identify the connectivity challenges that they face. We then illustrate practical implementation considerations, tradeoffs, and future research directions for enabling reliable 5G healthcare transmissions. This is done through simulation of connected ambulances as an example use-case.

Advances in the application of robotic surgical systems in gastric cancer: A narrative review

Gastric cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in the gastrointestinal tract, and surgery is currently an important treatment for progressive gastric cancer. With the development of technology, the simultaneous maturation of artificial intelligence (AI), fifth-generation (5G) telecommunication networks and the internet of things (IOT) has brought significant efficacy and new opportunities for the surgical treatment of gastric malignancies. The combination of 5G network and remote surgical robotic system is the future trend of radical gastric cancer surgery, and the "unmanned" treatment mode of fully automated robotic gastric cancer radical surgery will be realized soon.

Demonstration experiment of telemedicine using ultrasonography and telerehabilitation with 5G communication system in aging and depopulated mountainous area

Objective

The challenges of an aging population worldwide are the increased number of people needing medical and nursing care and inadequate medical resources. Information and communication technologies have progressed remarkably, leading to innovations in various areas. 5G communication systems are capable of high-capacity, high-speed communication with low latency and are expected to transform medicine. We aimed to report a demonstration experiment of telerehabilitation and telemedicine using a mobile ultrasound system in a depopulated area in a mountainous terrain, where 32% of the population are 65 years or older.

Methods

At the core hospital, a physician or physical therapist remotely performed ultrasonography or rehabilitation on a subject in a clinic. Five general residents participated in the telerehabilitation as subjects. The delay time and video quality transmitted with 5G and long-term evolution (LTE) communication systems were compared. The physician or physical therapist subjectively evaluated the quality and delay of the transmitted images and subject acceptability.

Results

Of seven physical therapists, six and three responded that the video quality was "good" for telerehabilitation with 5G/4K resolution and LTE, respectively. Five physical therapists and one physical therapist reported that the delay time was "acceptable" with 5G/4K resolution and LTE, respectively. For telemedicine using a mobile ultrasound system, the responses for 5G were "the delay was acceptable" and "rather acceptable." In contrast, both respondents' responses for LTE were "not acceptable."

Conclusions

Multiple high-definition images can be transmitted with lower latency in telerehabilitation and telemedicine using mobile ultrasound imaging systems with a 5G communication system. These differences affected the subjective evaluation of the doctors and physical therapists.

Gastroenterology in the Metaverse: The dawn of a new era?

2021 is known as the first Year of the Metaverse, and around the world, internet giants are eager to devote themselves to it. In this review, we will introduce the concept, current development, and application of the Metaverse and the use of the current basic technologies in the medical field, such as virtual reality and telemedicine. We also probe into the new model of gastroenterology in the future era of the Metaverse.