Hospital da Luz Lisboa is the first health unit in Portugal with fifth generation technology in mobile communication , in the context of a pioneer partnership with NOS Communications. The current 5G applications in this hospital and future potentialities in the area of health were presented by Manuel Ramalho Eanes, NOS administrator, and Isabel Vaz, Luz Saúde group CEO, in a press conference held on June 16. Near-complete net resiliency, more objects interlinked, reduced response time, high speed and large bandwidth to access data in real time, are some of the unique features of 5G . The partnership between Luz Saúde and NOS will foster advancement in healthcare and medical research, allowing physicians, nurses, technicians, clients and all the support structure of HL Lisboa to be the first to take advantage of the value offered by this new mobile technology. In an initial stage, 5G will take effect on the training and education of professionals and students in the hospital, through the use of applications of virtual and augmented reality to create new scenarios and virtual environments for training, diagnosis and treatment. The same technologies may be used in palliative care in the hospital – providing the connection of patients to their homes and higher proximity to their families – whether in a logic of reassurance or of sensory stimulation, whether as a complement to therapy. 5G will also allow greater agility in the operational and technical functioning of the hospital – a “smart building”, whose systems will be able to be monitored and controlled at a distance, thus optimizing time and costs. Isabel Vaz, the Luz Saúde CEO, stated: “For a hospital, and for health in general, the advantages of this new technology are inestimable. But this is a means, not an end in itself: we invest in technology, because it translates in what is best for the patient , in terms of diagnosis, treatment and safety.” “The partnership between Luz Saúde and NOS will allow to initiate a new cycle of innovation in healthcare providing in Portugal, to take the hospital to the people’s homes , in a clinically safe manner and always ensuring their privacy. This is highly important, not only in the control of chronic disease, but also in the prevention of disease: making it possible to anticipate interventions and act preventively, which is the goal in health, furthermore with a considerable impact on costs for the health system.” “We have already been pioneer in robotic surgery and stereotaxic procedures for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. 5G will allow us to work anywhere in the world and interact with highly differentiated professionals.” “HL Lisboa is partner with Universidade Católica Portuguesa in the first private course of Medicine which will involve innovating teaching methods, that 5G will potentiate. Through virtual and augmented reality, students can immerse in a remote medical scene, whether taking place in the operating theatre, in intensive care or anywhere else, in an exceptional learning experience.” Manuel Ramalho Eanes, NOS administrator, highlighted: “This is for us a technological milestone of great relevance in the pursuing of leadership in 5G: Hospital da Luz Lisboa is the first infrastructure in the country willing to embrace this new digital and smart paradigm of the fifth generation of mobile communication.” “This will be the first hospital with technological applications resorting to 5G, in a clear investment on innovation, for the benefit of the institution, its professionals, clients and students.” “5G will provide multiple possibilities allowing to leverage the Portuguese digital transition, crosswise and particularly in health, one of the areas that may benefit the most. And this first 5G hospital is a demonstration of NOS ability to apply the potential of the fifth generation in mobile communication in the most relevant areas of society.” 17 antennas cover the main areas of the hospital In this project of 5G testing in a real environment (the tender for network licensing is still in process), NOS has set up at Hospital da Luz Lisboa 17 5G antennas covering nuclear areas – namely, external consultations, surgery, main auditorium and the Training, Research and Innovation Centre. For the areas of higher inflow of patients and accompanying persons, dedicated cells will be subsequently installed, ensuring higher capacity and wider network range. In the meanwhile, the operator is already working in new applications of 5G to health, which will soon be implemented in HL Lisboa, such as the recourse to sensorization to monitor patients in domiciliary hospitalization and the development of remote healthcare, for medical collaboration at a distance. The journalists present in the press conference, that took place on June 16, had the opportunity to witness the practical demonstrations of what the 5G network already allows in the field of medical education and hospital training. Before a simulator of paediatric patient installed in the stage of HL Lisboa’s main auditorium, an internist equipped with augmented reality goggles filming the patient’s body, received guidance from a specialist in Paediatrics, located in another point of the building, on the best procedures to take in order to treat the simulated case of septic shock. In another demonstration, of virtual reality, a robot equipped with a 360º camera gathered images in real time from the training centre, broadcasting them instantly to the VR goggles of a student not physically present on site.
