Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital first took off in 1982. Since then, the accredited ophthalmology teaching hospital — complete with a surgery suite, recovery room, and classroom — has flown to more than 95 countries. Over the organization’s more than 40-year history, volunteer medical professionals have performed more than 500,000 eye surgeries and trained thousands of doctors, nurses, and other health workers.
The Flying Eye Hospital continues to be part of the nonprofit’s mission to prevent blindness and avoidable vision loss around the world — but technology has become increasingly important in the organization’s work.
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Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital first took off in 1982. Since then, the accredited ophthalmology teaching hospital — complete with a surgery suite, recovery room, and classroom — has flown to more than 95 countries. Over the organization’s more than 40-year history, volunteer medical professionals have performed more than 500,000 eye surgeries and trained thousands of doctors, nurses, and other health workers.
The Flying Eye Hospital continues to be part of the nonprofit’s mission to prevent blindness and avoidable vision loss around the world — but technology has become increasingly important in the organization’s work.
The group’s Cybersight online platform has allowed medical professionals to consult with one another on difficult cases since 2003. From modest beginnings, it has expanded to feature webinars, livestreamed surgeries, and opportunities for users to engage with subject-matter experts.
The virtual community was critical to Orbis being able to continue its work during the pandemic, says CEO Derek Hodkey. That experience, he says, prompted the organization to move to a blended learning model. For example, the group provides online training both before and after in-person training. Staff members also talk to local medical professionals about the cases they’re dealing with.
“As we plan our visit, we can line up the right expertise so that we know that we have people who are very specialized in pediatrics or cataracts,” Hodkey says, “so that we ensure that we have the highest probability of addressing the needs that are most acute from those doctors in that community.”
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The Flying Eye Hospital is equipped with simulations and artificial eyes that medical professionals can train on before doing surgery on patients. Orbis is working with a company in Britain to develop a virtual-reality training module to give doctors a more authentic experience.
Geoff Oliver Bugbee, Orbis International
A 5-year-old girl had surgery at the Flying Eye Hospital to correct a drooping eyelid, which had obstructed her vision.
“Even with simulation, you never quite get the same sensation, if you have to use a scalpel, of cutting into tissue because you can’t feel the resistance,” Hodkey says. “The virtual-reality piece of this is going to be a game changer.”
Here, a 5-year-old girl had surgery to correct congenital ptosis, or a drooping eyelid, at the Flying Eye Hospital in Can Tho, Vietnam. The condition had obstructed her vision.