5G lets emergency doctor observe interventions

The Paramedic Intervention Team responds to emergency calls and administers first aid at the scene. It consists of a paramedic and an emergency nurse, but not an emergency doctor. “Until now, in cases where this was necessary, consultations with the doctor in A&E took place over the phone. But in critical situations you really need visual support as well,” says Dr Ines Lamote, emergency doctor at Jan Yperman Hospital.

Grant application

The hospital submitted a grant application to the federal government to investigate how emergency services could be made more efficient with the aid of 5G. The project was approved and has since been successfully delivered. This was done with Orange Belgium, e-BO Enterprises, the West Flanders Development Agency, Howest and KU Leuven.

Optimal advice

Thanks to 5G Standalone, the critical care ambulance team now has visual support from the emergency doctor at all times. The emergency nurse puts on smart glasses and initiates a video call with the doctor at A&E. “This way we can monitor the situation live remotely,” says Dr Lamote. “We can observe the patient, the monitor and everything that takes place in the ambulance as if we were right there. This is a huge help in assessing the situation more accurately.”

The critical care ambulance is also equipped with in-vehicle cameras that provide a broader picture of the situation. Dr Lamote: “This allows the emergency doctor to offer optimal advice about administering medication and prepare efficiently for the patient’s arrival at A&E.”

Redundant setup

Transmitting the video footage during the intervention requires high bandwidth and low latency. “To ensure optimal coverage in our rural area, we chose a connection with two 5G networks, with the option of switching instantly between the two depending on availability,” explains Stefaan Van Aken, 5G Customer Solution Architect at Orange Belgium.

“Two 5G Standalone routers have been mounted on the roof of the ambulance: one from Orange and the other from e-BO Enterprises. These routers ensure continuous communication with Orange’s 5G antennas and the private 5G network from Flanders Smart Fields in the Westhoek.”

Priority video calls

Orange Belgium uses 5G slicing for this application. Van Aken: “A specific portion of bandwidth on the 5G Standalone network is reserved for the critical care ambulance. As a result, video calls between the intervention team and the emergency doctor are prioritised over other network users. This is crucial when the rest of the network is saturated: in emergency situations or at busy events, communication between the critical care ambulance and the emergency doctor will always be possible, maintaining the same video and audio quality.”

Confidential communication

Finally, security was also a key concern. Both the critical care ambulance and the hospital are equipped with SIM cards containing authentication and encryption keys that are unknown to Orange. As a result, video calls remain confidential at all times.

The system is appreciated by all the healthcare providers involved. “The connection with the nurse is smooth, giving us an instant clear picture of the patient and an overview of the situation,” says Dr Lamote.

With the support of the FPS Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy