GE Research had connected both Sub-6 and mmWave 5G from AT&T to its Niskayuna, N.Y. research facility. AT&T uses the brand name 5G+ for its mmWave offering.
The testbed itself is designed to develop solutions for advanced clean energy, air transportation and precision health solutions. The latter will be a particular focus for AT&T and GE. Researchers are looking for ways to use the fast speed and low latency offered through AT&T 5G+ to improve patient care and outcomes as healthcare becomes more “personal, precise and portable” over the next decade, AT&T said in a press release.
AT&T and GE Research see the following as some of the potential ways that 5G can enhance the patient experience in the near future:
- Faster development of wearable sensors and medical devices that enable a patient to stay at home or return home from the hospital faster without losing the doctor’s ability to monitor and respond to changes in the patient’s recovery
- Better ability to quickly locate medical equipment in a large health care facility.
- Improved data collection and analysis
- More effective expert networks, enabling teleconsultation and AI-augmented decision making
“The power of reliable, robust sub-6 and 5G+ networks will transform healthcare by bringing care more directly to the patient,” said Eric Tucker, senior director of technical products, GE, in a prepared statement. “We’re already seeing how doctors have become more connected to their patients through the power of telemedicine or teleconsulting. Just imagine what will be possible when millions of medical devices and diagnostics tools can be reliably connected to help doctors deliver faster, more effective patient care.”
AT&T’s 5G technology is being used at other testbeds as well, including ones at Texas A&M and at Purdue University.
“Bringing AT&T’s full spectrum of 5G connectivity to GE’s Global Research facility is opening the doors for exploring new opportunities and developing innovative solutions that can transform industries,” said Rasesh Patel, AT&T executive vice president and chief product and platform officer, in a prepared statement. “Our strategy of deploying 5G in both spectrum bands provides GE with the mix of performance and coverage they need to uncover and fulfill the promise of 5G.”
