Mannheim/London. The international blindness prevention NGO Orbis has equipped its third generation “Flying Eye Hospital” with another training simulator from VRmagic. The Flying Eye Hospital enables a global volunteer team of ophthalmic experts to both train local medical professionals in Africa, Asia and Latin America and deliver patient treatment in order to prevent avoidable blindness. The MD-10 aircraft was remodeled to comprise a clinic with operating theater and teaching facilities. Next to classroom and live broadcast capabilities from the operating theater, the plane features two virtual reality simulators from VRmagic for training of medical professionals. The Eyesi® Surgical simulator has already been on board since 2005. Now, eye doctors can also train retinal examinations on virtual patients. The Eyesi® Indirect Ophthalmoscope simulator offers a realistic, three-dimensional experience and a wide variety of retinal pathologies.
Dr. Jonathan Lord, Orbis: “Orbis was an early adopter of the Eyesi simulator, which has been a popular component of our Flying Eye Hospital training programmes over the past 10 years. On every programme we operate a booking system for this device due to its popularity. The use of simulation in medical training has grown as it allows essential skills training in a safe controlled environment, without patient risk. With the arrival of our ‘third generation’ Flying Eye Hospital we are delighted that we have been able to upgrade to a new Eyesi Simulator and an indirect simulator. The coming years will see us grow our competency based simulation training programs and these devices will form a key component of this training.”
Since 1982, the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital has delivered programmes in 78 countries. In 2016, Orbis delivered over 10 million treatments across its programmes, including supporting the distribution of the antibiotic Zithromax, which is used to treat the blinding infection trachoma. This year, Orbis will be undertaking treatment and training programs in Vietnam, Cameroon and Bangladesh.
From March 11th to 17th, the plane will be at London Stansted Airport for the launch of the “Operation Sight” campaign.
More about Orbis at
www.orbis.org
www.orbis.org/pages/flying-eye-hospital
High-resolution images
Orbis Flying Eye Hospital Outside View (Copyright Vero Images)
Orbis Flying Eye Hospital Group with Eyesi Surgical (Copyright Vero Images)
Flying Eye Hospital Eyesi Simulator Jinan (Copyright Geoff Oliver Bubgee/Orbis)
Flying Eye Hospital Eyesi Simulator (Copyright Geoff Oliver Bubgee/Orbis)
