Emergency Telemedicine Mobile Ultrasounds Using a 5G-Enabled Application: Development and Usability Study

Area of Science:

• Mobile Health
• Telemedicine
• 5G Network Technology

Background:

• Digitalization is transforming healthcare, with telemedicine applications growing.
• Fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology offers high bandwidth, low latency, and quality of service essential for real-time telemedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop and clinically evaluate a 5G usability test framework.
• Enable preclinical diagnostics using mobile ultrasound transmitted over 5G networks.

Main Methods:

• Established bidirectional audio-video data transmission between ambulance and hospital using 5G.
• Conducted technical performance evaluations and medical assessments of ultrasound image quality and latency.

Main Results:

• Telemedical ultrasound probe application properties rated as very good to good by participants.
• Achieved 10ms latency and 4Mbps/12Mbps throughput for ultrasound/video streams.
• 5G core network slicing improved video quality and latency during traffic saturation.

Conclusions:

• Successfully established bidirectional 5G data transmission for mobile ultrasound and video streaming between ambulance and hospital.
• Implemented 5G core network slicing for enhanced user experience.
• Clinical evaluation confirmed the positive applicability of the telemedical ultrasound probe.