tech2 News Staff

5G is definitely the future of connectivity and while US cries foul over Huawei, the company's 5G prowess is being put to use in China.

As per a report by CGTN, China just conducted its first remote surgery on a human being using 5G technology on Saturday. A collaborative effort between Huawei, China Mobile and the Chinese PLA General Hospital, according to a statement from China Mobile.

Physically located in South China's Hainan Province, Surgeon Ling Zhipei implanted a neurostimulator, or "brain pacemaker" into a patient with Parkinson's disease at the Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing by operating medical equipment through transmitted images supported by 5G technologies. The procedure lasted three hours.

As per the report, the process was made possible with the low-latency 5G technology provided by Huawei and China Mobile, which enabled near instantaneous data transmission.

"It felt like a real-time operation - I didn't even feel like the patient was 3,000 kilometers away," Ling said after the surgery.

According to the statement, the patient's symptoms, including limb tremor and muscular stiffness, were significantly relieved after the procedure. The patient has improved and is confirmed by hospital authorities to be in a stable condition.

5G technologies were used successfully in a surgery conducted on a pig at the end of 2018, when a doctor from Beijing's 301 Hospital removed part of a pig's liver using two robot arms in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian Province. It was the world's first remote surgery using 5G mobile network technology on an animal.

Definitely not a long time before we see robots perform intricate surgeries over 5G.