Chinese telecom giant Huawei will power a remote diagnosis platform to battle against the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan’s new makeshift Huoshenshan hospital, local tech media 36Kr reported.
The platform will enable medical experts across China to work with frontline medical staff to conduct remote online consultations with patients, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment. It will also alleviate the pressure on Wuhan’s health system, where hospitals are currently overcrowded and undergoing a shortage of protective gear and medical equipment, Huawei said.
The Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, a makeshift hospital built for the admission and treatment of patients infected with the novel virus, was constructed in ten days and formally handed over to the military on Sunday morning. About 1,400 medical staff from the army have started treating patients in the new facility on Monday.
Another makeshift hospital in Wuhan, named Leishenshan Hospital, is still under construction and is expected to be operational by February 5. The two medical centers are modeled after the Beijing Xiaotangshan Hospital, which was built in 2003 for the SARS crisis.
Huawei has partnered with state-owned carrier China Telecom on the project and completed the installation of internet infrastructure and equipment debugging for the remote diagnosis platform on January 31. The tech giant also donated a set of high-definition video conference equipment and the software platform to allow “smooth communications even under poor internet conditions,” said the company.
Prior to the remote diagnosis system, Huawei supported two local telecom carriers to set up a 5G base station in the Huoshenshan Hospital on January 25, according to the company’s announcement on Weibo.
The 5G network will allow reliable and speedy internet connections, ensuring a smooth communications environment for data collection, remote treatment, and other services, the announcement said.
The fast-spreading epidemic in China caused by the new virus has already claimed 361 lives and infected over 17,205 people as of 12 a.m. local time on Monday, according to Chinese officials. More than 21,000 patients are currently under observation. Cases have also been reported in 23 other countries including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and the US.
36Kr is KrASIA’s parent company.