5G-Based Smart Ambulance: The Future of the Emergency Service in the Global Pandemic and Beyond

Authors

Ignacio Martinez-Alpiste, Jose Maria Alcaraz-Calero, Qi Wang, Gelayol Golcarenarenji, Enrique Chirivella-Perez and Pablo Salva-Garcia

Magazine	IEEE Communications Society Technology News
Early online date	October
Original language	English

Smart Ambulances empowered by the next-generation (5G) mobile networking technologies and machine learning-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) will greatly facilitate emergency management services. A 5G-connected autonomous eHealth ambulance can act as a high-speed mobile connection for the emergency medical force. Not only the ambulance but also the paramedic staff will be equipped with audio-visual sensors such as head cameras to capture the environment and the physical appearance of the patient (or victim). In addition, the patient will be fully monitored with wearables to check their vital signs. The information acquired is delivered to the awaiting accident and emergency department team at the destination hospital. These communications could optionally be shared with other specialists out of the hospital to help timely diagnosis and treatment on the route, especially in the constrained medical service situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 5G network slicing technologies guarantee the quality for the transmission of onboard real-time streaming of patients' medical conditions to the awaiting hospitals and emergency centers. Moreover, the 5G Smart Ambulance is equipped with an AI core that leverages front cameras to study the road through the recognition of possible obstacles and thus react and maintain a swift but constant speed to create a controlled environment to allow secure patient treatments.

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