Page 45 - ITU KALEIDOSCOPE, ATLANTA 2019

ICT for Health: Networks, standards and innovation

6.2 Upcoming Access Requirements states and countries. Roaming
would be desirable to ensure that the
With developments in medical science, treatment methods end user is not restricted to one
and procedures have also evolved. Advances in technology, service provider while using the
end-user equipment and applications are taking place. medical device. Portable medical
Awareness in integrating different tools and techniques are kits are today available and roaming
leading to newer ways of treatment and use of data available support will enable flexibility to the
through the various end points, human or otherwise. These end user while being on the move.
developments place demands on technology to meet end-
user expectations. Bandwidth – low Some devices need only a few Kbps
to high to send and receive data while other
Table 2 – Access requirements devices may require higher
bandwidth in the order of Mbps. A
4K video transmitting medical
Area Description image may require 15 Mbps to 25
Mbps throughput [5]. With higher
Low latency [4] Life-saving equipment sensors and quality 8K videos, this can be
actuators need to respond within the pushed upwards to 85-100 Mbps
shortest possible time. This leads to [6]. With remote surgery and other
the need for ultra-low latency such uses cases, the requirements of
support in the access technology to video, audio and real-time data
reduce the e2e latency from the would need enough bandwidth to
device to the application. Latencies generate quality outputs. This, in
in the range of 1-5 millisecond turn, would require the access
would be desirable as newer use technologies to support a range of
cases and applications come up. bandwidths from a few Kbps to
multiple Gbps.
Enhanced mobility Access technologies need to be able
to give mobility support to the end- Integration with As data consumption and usage in
user device. A patient with a heart large databases the medical sector increases, this
monitor should be able to use his and applications data can come from a multitude of
device from within the medical [7] sources: imaging, MRIs, EEG and
center precincts to his home which ECG, audio files, patient records
may be several kms away. and storage and the like. This
results in the medical care industry
Better quality & Unlike other applications, medical becoming one of the key users of big
reliability [4] IoT devices and applications require data [8].
high quality, from the device to the
application. The quality of service Integration with Increasing evidence of the use of
in the network should be able to other ML and AI can be seen in the
ensure prioritization of the services technologies, ML medical space, image scanning and
and availability. The reliability of and AI [7] interpretation applications,
the communication system will be radiology images and assisted
an important and life-saving need. surgery. The use of AI and big data
analysis with the computing power
Interoperability For ease of use and integration of cloud-based solutions call for
and open between devices and applications, close integration between and
standards the access technologies need to be among these technologies with the
based on open standards and available ones [9]. The access
protocols. Device to Device technologies should be able to
communication (D2D), Device to seamlessly and transparently allow
Application (D2A), the protocols this integration.
and standards in the access, data
retrieval and storage and processing Enhanced security The privacy of the end user is an
need not be restricted to any and privacy [7] unalienable right. The system
proprietary standards. This will lead [10] should be capable of thwarting
to better integration efficiencies. security breaches which can be
catastrophic. The robustness of the
Roaming support In a mobile embracing world, there system to remain resilient and
is mobility across geographies, reliable calls for implementing

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