Forget old medical records and outdated approaches: according to a team of researchers, the healthcare of the future will feature digital twins and nanotechnology.
In a recently published review article, the authors argue that the upcoming 6G technology is poised to revolutionise how patients, doctors, and hospitals deal with appointments, diagnosis, data, revenue, and more.
“Our findings underscore the transformative potential of this combination for achieving proactive and accessible healthcare, while outlining a roadmap for overcoming prevailing technical, ethical, and infrastructural barriers,” said the authors in the paper.
The researchers are affiliated with Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Nantes Université, and Holy-Spirit University of Kaslik.
Unlocking New Opportunities in Healthcare
If 6G lives up to its celebrated potential, the authors foresee several new use cases at the disposal of the entire ecosystem, including:
Real-time Remote Robotic Surgery and Haptics
According to the paper, 6G’s sub-millisecond latency and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) capabilities will enable surgeons to perform complex robotic surgeries from a distance with unprecedented precision.
Engineers have touted these capabilities as an option in 5G, but URLLC has not been put into commercial use in a way that would allow such surgeries in current networks.
Since this technology is expected to take off with 6G, one of the biggest changes for doctors will be the ability to integrate haptic feedback, according to the researchers, allowing surgeons to “feel” what they are doing remotely, enhancing surgical precision beyond 5G limitations.
Continuous Monitoring through Bio-Nanosensors and the Internet of Things (IoT)
This involves pervasive connectivity for a vast network of devices, including bio-nanosensors within Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT), as well as intelligent wearable devices (IWD) and the Intelligent Internet of Medical Things (IIoMT).
According to the researchers, these devices enable continuous, real-time tracking of a wide range of medical indicators such as vital signs, activity levels, psychological metrics, and environmental parameters. AI algorithms will process this high-frequency data for immediate analysis, facilitating earlier detection of conditions and proactive health management.
Digital Twin-enabled Patient Simulation
With virtual replicas of devices and even cities considered more of a “today’s technology”, the future should see digital twins of patients for simulations. The article outlines that these simulations can aid in personalised treatment planning, predict disease progression, and facilitate medical training without risk to actual patients.
Healthcare Management and Monetisation
IoT-enabled devices, coupled with 6G, will facilitate optimising resource allocation and operational efficiency within healthcare settings.
Another change, this one more sensitive, is the development of new revenue streams such as the monetisation of anonymised patient data.
However, the authors alert that such a business should be ruled by robust AI-powered data governance, ensuring healthcare providers can explore this field while adhering to privacy regulations.
Challenges to Make the Future Happen
If the future of healthcare looks bright with so many possibilities at hand, it is also true that engineers and the medical community will face challenges in making it a reality.
“We highlighted the transformative opportunities AI and 6G technologies bring to healthcare. However, realising these advancements at scale requires addressing significant challenges,” the authors pointed out.
Among the issues, the researchers highlighted the need to address critical security and privacy concerns, as well as manage the limitations of THz wireless communication.
However, there are other potholes on the road ahead, not all of them technology-related. “[Examples include] The design of energy-efficient IoT devices, robust data privacy frameworks that integrate federated learning and blockchain technology, ethical considerations surrounding AI explainability, and equitable access to healthcare.”
Although not mentioned by the authors, while there may be a business case for patient monitoring, it’s liable to be an expensive per-person cost for a health service to arrange, unless companies can get economies of scale.
A potential workaround is to link existing health or wellness trackers to national health services, but this solution would require very careful security and access management.
The full review article can be seen here.
