Chennai: Incredibly fast usage 5G technologya skilled surgeon will be able to have a robot operate on a patient admitted to a hospital, thousands of miles away, without compromising precision.
The technology is likely to help surgeons perform remote procedures around the world that are impossible today, Bangalore-based senior robotic surgeon Dr. SP Somashekhar, president of the Aster Institute of Oncology, said on the sidelines of a conference. Oncology Updates: 2023, organized by the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in association with the Tamil Nadu Surgical Oncology Association on Saturday.
in a robotic surgery, a surgeon controls the tools remotely while viewing the surgical site through a high-definition monitor that provides a magnified three-dimensional image. For now, in most hospitals in India, the surgeon sits in a room or console away from the patient, but in the same building as the hospital. “If we have 5G technology, doctors in India will be able to operate on patients in remote places,” she said.
The technology has already been successfully demonstrated in several developed countries with strong Internet networks. “For example, there are reports of how a US doctor operated on a patient in France,” she said.
Hospitals in India are now spending money on Indian-made equipment that costs around Rs 5 crores compared to imported ones that cost Rs 15-20. laparoscopic surgery it is usually around 35,000 when doctors use indigenous machines, but the cost increases by one lakh if imported machines are used, he added. He IRDA has also posted a notice and several health insurance policies now they cover robotic surgery.
Robotic units, he said, have several advantages in addition to eliminating the need for the physical presence of the operating surgeon.
