MedaPhor supports ultrasound training in Rwanda and the Dominican Republic

4 February 2014

Cardiff-based MedaPhor is working with US healthcare institutions to provide technical support to boost ultrasound skills in Rwanda and the Dominican Republic.

MedaPhor’s ScanTrainer ultrasound simulator will play a key role in programmes run by PURE (Physicians Ultrasound in Rwanda Education Initiative), and by Global Women’s Health, an initiative of The Mount Sinai Hospital. They are working respectively in economically challenged regions with a need to educate medical professionals in ultrasound image interpretation.

As a diagnostic tool ultrasound is cheap to implement and can be used to quickly diagnose common and potentially fatal issues. However, the images are difficult to interpret without adequate training. ScanTrainer was developed to help address this vital education issue. This work is intended to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality as well as diagnose diseases at an early stage.

Developed out of research from Cardiff University, MedaPhor’s ScanTrainer has been sold to hospitals and universities around the world to improve training in ultrasound for medical professionals. It uses real-patient ultrasound scans and allows trainees to acquire and practise the skills required to perform diagnostic ultrasound in a non-clinical environment. PURE will use the ScanTrainer at Rwandan teaching hospitals in Kigali to improve education, and ultimately diagnostic capabilities.

Dr Trish Henwood at PURE said: “Both in the United States and in resource-limited settings such as Rwanda, practical experience with transvaginal ultrasonography is quite limited for both medical students and junior physicians, but an essential diagnostic test to best care for patients presenting with early obstetric and gynecologic issues. The ScanTrainer is simulation at its best, providing very realistic practice in necessary and potentially lifesaving skills that are otherwise quite difficult to teach at the bedside.”

Mount Sinai’s Global Women’s Heath will use the simulator to improve the provision of essential services to women in need. Dr Shirazian Director of Global Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai Hospital commented: “Using MedaPhor's simulator we were able to train a number of local providers in how to identify gynecologic issues in rural outreach to women for need in the Dominican Republic.”

MedaPhor’s CEO, Stuart Gall, added: “We are delighted to support the Mount Sinai Global Women’s Health and PURE ultrasound education initiatives. Our laptop-based ScanTrainer training simulators are perfect for teaching the key ultrasound image acquisition skills in locations where portable training solutions enable flexible training solutions. We look forward to hearing all about the successes of both teams work and supporting them in future education projects.”

Source: MedaPhor

 

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