A Chinese medical team has pushed the frontier of modern medicine by completing a robotic prostate surgery across continents. From Rome, Professor Zhang Xu guided robotic instruments in Beijing, separated by 8,000 kilometers, proving that distance no longer has to be a barrier when high-speed networks and surgical precision meet.
The key to making this possible was the integration of 5G at both ends with a fiber-optic backbone carrying the long-haul data. This hybrid approach ensured near real-time responsiveness. The latency measured just 135 milliseconds, safely under the threshold surgeons need for delicate procedures, making the experience almost indistinguishable from being in the operating room itself.
This demonstration echoes the landmark Lindbergh Operation of 2001, when surgeons in New York operated on a patient in Strasbourg using early telecommunication technology. More than two decades later, the Rome to Beijing case has proven that today’s infrastructure can deliver even lower delays, higher video quality, and greater reliability over similar distances.
The implications are enormous. Remote surgery could eventually allow top specialists to treat patients anywhere in the world, bridging medical inequality and bringing advanced care to underserved regions. While challenges like cost, security, and network stability remain, the success of this surgery shows a future where expertise travels faster than airplanes.
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