GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) announced today that it inaugurated its first 5G innovation lab around the globe in Bengaluru, India.
The company aims to use the 5G innovation lab to position itself at the forefront of groundbreaking advances in patient care, including potentially bringing cutting-edge technology to rural and suburban regions.
According to a news release, GE Healthcare believes 5G has the potential to disrupt the patient care continuum and transform diagnosis, therapy and prognosis.
The new innovation lab sits at GE Healthcare’s largest R&D center outside of the U.S. at the John F. Welch Technology Center (JFWTC). It features state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a private 5G network for testing and development as it will serve as a “testbed” to develop future-ready products and solutions, the company said.
Additionally, the lab provides expertise and a platform for a collaborative ecosystem for academia, the healthcare industry and startups, facilitating exploration and enabling validation and qualification of 5G-enabled precision healthcare use cases. It will “serve as a conduit” for the interplay of technologies including artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), big data, edge computing and cybersecurity.
“The healthcare industry, driven by value-based patient care, is at a turning point that will put a greater emphasis on connectivity and accessibility,” GE Healthcare President and CEO of Imaging Jan Makela said in the release. “As the world is transforming digitally, it’s important for us to ensure we don’t miss out on lifesaving, critical information. India is an important market for us globally and it is indeed the right time to venture into 5G, which will open a realm of exciting opportunities, driving the next wave of growth in Healthcare.”
GE Healthcare said that it is exploring the potential to provide quality healthcare to rural and suburban regions in India and around the world, as the high-speed connectivity associated with 5G can help to connect smaller clinics to larger specialty hospitals or radiology centers.
The company added that 5G-powered augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) are also key to training physicians, from doctors and nurses to interns, enabling them to visualize procedures in a more engaged, learning-by-doing manner.
“At GE Healthcare, we are using our clinical expertise and know-how to deliver integrated, efficient, and highly personalized care and advance precision health,” GE Healthcare VP of Engineering Girish Raghavan said. “At our 5G innovation lab, our lead scientists and technologists will research and develop solutions for the most pressing healthcare issues, for India and the world. This lab will play a pivotal role in helping us build an ecosystem to explore 5G-enabled use cases and leapfrog into the next generation of medtech.”
