GUANGZHOU, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Surgeons in the southern Chinese city of Gaozhou successfully conducted cardiac endoscopic surgery with help from experts 400 km away via a 5G wireless network on Wednesday.
The surgery was performed on a 41-year-old female patient suffering from congenital heart disease and lasted nearly four hours.
The entire process was transmitted via live feed to an expert team in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, located in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.
The 5G wireless network, which offered a transmission speed 10 times faster than a 4G service, was stable throughout the surgery, according to technicians.
Guo Huiming, head of the expert team, monitored the whole process on a large screen, which also showed the patient's vital signs and a model of her heart generated by virtual reality (VR) technology.
At one point, Guo instructed the chief surgeon in Gaozhou to move the cutting point 3 cm upward to avoid harming the nerve.
"With 5G technology, doctors who are 400 km apart can cooperate to conduct a surgery," said Yu Xueqing, president of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital. "It saves a lot of time and enables doctors to treat more patients."
