ABSTRACT
The next generation wireless communication which includes the fifth generation (5G) and beyond 5G communications has the defining characteristic of being the technology with low latency and high data rate, in comparison to previous generation communication technologies. These characteristics make 5G and beyond 5G technologies an integral part of future smart healthcare services. The healthcare sector is on the path to becoming fully smart with the use of smart devices for remote connection and diagnosis, removing the barriers of physical distance and cost, thus giving equal opportunities to all, including the less privileged. In this regard, the 5G and beyond technology is expected to play a key role towards fulfillment of the dream of providing everyone with everywhere connectivity that is also affordable. For example, a robotic surgery, assisted across continents, expects a very small latency to be successful which will be guaranteed by the next generation technologies. Further, this would need communication between the devices, machines, and offloading of traffic from the already constrained communication network. Technologies like the device-to-device communications would be key enablers along with the support of the next-generation communication network to provide ultra-low latency, higher bandwidths, and higher data rates. The combination of artificial intelligence techniques and the next generation networks, for applications in healthcare, would lead to reductions in computations and would aid in intelligent decision making. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the role of 5G and beyond 5G communication technologies on healthcare, its merits, and its challenges. Further, we also study the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in providing benefits to healthcare and we also look at the challenges that need to be overcome.
