India’s first 5G-driven, AI-guided colonoscopy trial carried out

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel with Apollo Hospitals on Thursday announced that they have carried out India's first 5G-driven, Artificial Intelligence (AI) guided colonoscopy trial.

In this trial, Airtel's 5G technology was used to detect colon cancer faster and more accurately by applying AI. This technology has ultra-low latency and high processing capabilities.

HealthNet Global, AWS and Avesha are the other three companies that collaborated in this trial.

"Healthcare is one of the most promising use cases for 5G, and we are delighted to collaborate Apollo Hospitals, AWS, HealthNet Global and Avesha. This is just the beginning, and I am certain we will bring many more innovative use cases that will help redefine healthcare in the country," Ajay Chitkara, CEO and Director, Airtel Business, said in a statement.

The company mentioned that AI-assisted colonoscopy polyp detection trials will help doctors to improve the quality of patient care, and improve the accuracy of detection rates by capturing information correctly and reducing errors.

"By augmenting doctor's ability to detect, AI has been proved to improve physician's accuracy. Early detection and removal of polyps can easily avoid them becoming cancerous. Apollo has always been a fore runner in adoption of technology. Our patient centric approach keeps us on an outlook for technologies which can make outcomes better," Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said in a statement.

Through the use of 5G, Edge computing, and Artificial Intelligence, proper and timely diagnoses can be assisted, which can lead to improved patient outcomes.