The J.A. Fernández-Vigo International Center for Advanced Ophthalmology is part of the U.T.E. led by Telefónica that won the government’s call for 5G pilot projects. In these projects, Telefónica goes with other applicants in joint venture companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Telnet Redes Inteligentes and Centro Internacional de Oftalmología Avanzada with an investment of 14.2m €. They cover various fields, from industry, vehicular communications or e-health.
What is the 5G network?
It is the fifth generation of wireless communication technologies, it is the progression of the 3 and 4G networks that we have been using so far and that have enabled the exponential development of communications such as the Internet, cell phones, etc.
Why is it so important?
In the immediate future everything will be connected and the 5G network is a fundamental technology to avoid the collapse and saturation of communications in large urban agglomerations. Another of its fundamental characteristics is the speed of transmission and minimum latency, which will allow, for example, automatic driving or telesurgery.
What is the project about?
It is a government aid program for the development and implementation of 5G pilot projects with the aim of promoting the new technology and paving the way for the commercial development of 5G, expected from 2021. In the defense of the project our use case on remote ophthalmological diagnosis caused great impact and aroused enormous interest.
Telefónica’s proposal involves an investment of €14.2 million, for which the Ministry of Development has granted a subsidy of €4.6 million. The two-year project will develop eight use cases. We will contribute the one corresponding to e-health: Ocuexplorer 5G, remote ophthalmological exploration and diagnosis in real time by capturing high-resolution images in collaboration with Dr. Fernández-Vigo’s International Center for Advanced Ophthalmology.
Who are part of the team?
Logically they are very large and multidisciplinary teams. Telefónica, Ericsson and Nokia will provide the technology for the deployment of the 5G network. We will contribute the part corresponding to the development of the ophthalmological diagnostic system, which in turn has two aspects, engineering and medical. From the engineering point of view, our team includes highly experienced telecommunications engineers, aeronautical engineers, computer scientists and business managers.
In the ophthalmological part of the system design we count on our ophthalmologists: Prof. J.A. Fernández-Vigo expert in refractive surgery and image diagnosis, Ana Macarro as expert in cataracts and intraocular lenses, Jose I. Fernández-Vigo in retina, Bachar Kudsieh in glaucoma, Ignacio Almorín in cornea and Inés Sánchez, Lucía de Pablo and Cristina Fernández-Vigo in child ophthalmology and strabismus.
It is a tremendously ambitious project in all areas and one that will condition the future development of our way of life. In our opinion, it can radically change the way in which we doctors in general and ophthalmologists in particular provide our services, to the benefit of patients, doctors and the sustainability of the social and healthcare system.