KT Corporation and Samsung Medical Center (SMC) have announced the launch of a 5G-enabled medical service as the first step toward creating a 5G-based smart hospital. The pilot project, developed by KT, the Seoul-based telecom provider, established service environments in operating and proton therapy rooms and carried out test operations.
Based on the pilot’s outcomes, KT (formerly Korea Telecom) and SMC plan to continue advancing smart patient care and 5G-driven medical practices to improve clinical workflows and hospital efficiency. Park In-Young, vice president of KT’s ICT Convergence Business Department, said: “KT, in partnership with Samsung Medical Center, is pioneering innovative medical services for the 5G era. We will continue refining 5G-powered medical technology by applying VR and AR for real-time education.”
In practice, 5G-enabled medical services have the potential to accelerate surgical and treatment processes by ensuring uninterrupted connectivity to specialists, enabling fast access to critical pathology information that informs patient care decisions. The network can also deliver prompt access to CT and MRI data during proton therapy and other advanced treatments.
Last September, KT expanded its international roaming arrangements by signing agreements with Italy’s TIM, Switzerland’s Sunrise, and Finland’s Elisa, allowing KT’s 5G subscribers to use those operators’ 5G networks. The Korean operator already has roaming agreements covering 185 countries for 3G and LTE and is extending those relationships to include 5G as services become available in each market.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT, the country reached about four million 5G subscribers last December. In October the ministry reported 3.98 million 5G subscribers, and in September it recorded an increase of 516,000 new 5G subscribers.
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