Autonomous Transport Robots and Electric Wheelchairs, 3D Remote Education... Bundang Seoul National University Hospital and KT Launch Services Based on '5G Private Network'

Bundang Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 6th that, together with KT, it has established autonomous transport robots, a 3D remote education system, and autonomous electric wheelchairs based on a 5G private network.

The Bundang Seoul National University Hospital and KT consortium was selected last year as the project operator in the 'Public Healthcare' sector of the 5G Convergence Service Project by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and has been promoting this project. After being selected as the operator, they built a 5G private network over about a year and are currently stabilizing the service by applying the convergence services to the medical field.

A staff member is taking out medical supplies transported by an autonomous delivery robot in front of the operating room.
[Photo by Bundang Seoul National University Hospital]

First, the autonomous transport robots automatically deliver items necessary for surgery and treatment, such as medical supplies, medicines, and linens. The items are brought from the Healthcare Innovation Park, located about 300 meters away from the main building of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital. The hospital established an unmanned transport system using six autonomous transport robots in the 'Walking Gallery,' a tunnel connecting the two buildings. Previously, people transported items between the two buildings by vehicle, but this has been replaced by autonomous transport robots. By avoiding busy times and delivering at night, the system minimizes overlapping routes with patients, ensuring patient safety and reducing the risk of infection. Multiple facilities within the hospital are interconnected, allowing the robots to pass through elevators and automatic doors and operate without collisions even when people are present.

The 3D remote education system is a non-face-to-face medical education service linked with the smart operating room to enhance the capabilities of medical staff. Bundang Seoul National University Hospital recently opened the 'SMART Simulation Center,' which provides simulation-based training in an environment identical to an actual hospital, offering educational programs to improve the proficiency of medical personnel. By integrating glasses-free 3D surgical education using 5G private network streaming here, the practical training environment for medical staff has been improved. This allows real-time vivid observation of surgical scenes while securing easier visibility and reducing the risk of infection.

The autonomous electric wheelchair is designed to prevent falls, which are the most common accidents involving hospital wheelchairs. It is equipped with an automatic braking function, and the wheelchair automatically enters a braking state when getting on or off, preventing backward movement and thus reducing fall accidents to enhance safety. Using the 5G private network, the location, status, and battery level of the autonomous wheelchair can be monitored, enabling the implementation of an automatic retrieval function that returns used wheelchairs to storage. The automatic retrieval will be applied after the technology stabilization phase.

Hospital Director Song Jeong-han said, "Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, which has led the smart hospital era by independently developing an unprecedented electronic medical record system worldwide, is accelerating the realization of patient-centered medical services using advanced technologies such as telemedicine, big data, and artificial intelligence on its 20th anniversary this year. We will focus our capabilities on enabling patients to enjoy higher levels of medical services based on the system established through the consortium with KT."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.