Flying hospital’ to improve global ophthalmic training

More than six years in the making, the third-generation Flying Eye Hospital features a modular design, 3D technology and live broadcast capabilities, enabling Orbis to train more doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to restore sight.The Flying Eye Hospital comprises a patient care and laser treatment room, operating room, sterilisation room, pre- and post-operative care room, AV/IT room, as well as a 46-seat classroom – all aboard an MD-10 aircraft.An Orbis statent explained that more than 285 million people are visually impaired, and four out of five suffer from preventable conditions, with 90 per cent of those people living in developing countries with no access to sight-saving treatments. Orbis’ mission is to bring the world together to fight blindness, as we believe that no one should go blind from conditions that are treatable or preventable, Orbis president and chief executive officer Mr Bob Ranck said. The Flying Eye Hospital helps us do that. It is in equal parts a teacher, envoy and advocate. We harness this powerful tool for change to support long-term [training] programs around the world. Training capabilitiesThe Flying Eye Hospital is said to be the only non-land-based hospital in the world accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities International.It is equipped to allow the Orbis medical team to provide hands-on training to local eye-care professionals in areas ranging from cataract to refractive errors, diabetes-related conditions, glaucoma, and strabismus, among others.Orbis trains the entire eye-care team, from health workers in rural clinics to eye surgeons in urban centers – a sustainable model that has proved invaluable for its results around the world.The Flying Eye Hospital’s new 3D filming and broadcast capabilities enable participants in the classroom to experience and learn from live surgeries with a view similar to the surgeon’s microscope lens.Orbis’ Cybersight teledicine platform also provides partner doctors free continuing medical education and mentorship from anywhere in the world, with availability to connect on difficult cases, share real-time diagnoses and more, donstrating how new technology can help bridge healthcare gaps around the world.Following its launch in Los Angeles, it was said the new-generation Flying Eye Hospital would be showcased at five other US locations – New York, Washington, DC, Mphis, Dallas and Sacramento – before departing to Asia to conduct its inaugural program in Shenyang, China this Septber.