We are delighted to introduce our Official Charity for FlyPharma US 2018: Orbis International!

Orbis is an international non-profit that transforms lives through the prevention and treatment of blindness. In this insightful blog post, Orbis offers a window into its life-changing work.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Need: There are an estimated 253 million people around the world who live with vision impairment; 36 million are blind and 217 million have moderate to severe vision impairment. [1]  However, 200 million of these cases are avoidable.

Visually challenged people struggle to perform routine tasks and are often unable to seek employment, pursue an education, participate in social activities or contribute fully to their communities.

The Cure: Since 1982, Orbis has been working to eliminate avoidable blindness by providing holistic team training around the world. Today, we carry on this vital work by delivering quality eye health care to those who need it most through training, research and advocacy.

Orbis is known for the operation of its MD-10 Flying Eye Hospital: a state-of-the-art teaching facility endowed with an operating room, classroom and recovery room. This exemplary aircraft is a leading example of the marriage between medicine and aviation, where an expert international team of ophthalmologists, nurses, anesthesiologists, and technicians transfer best practices for quality patient care to medical professionals in the countries that need it most.

2018 witnessed the establishment of the Flying Eye Hospital as the world’s first Mobile Simulation Center. Just as airline pilots have learned to fly using simulation training over the past 40 years, Orbis has adopted a similar approach to medical training, integrating simulation training into its programs.

The simulation center and virtual reality training outfitted for the Flying Eye Hospital allows local eye care teams to learn complex skills in a controlled environment before performing live operations on patients. The Mobile Simulation Center and associated training curricula have been comprehensively developed by Orbis in collaboration with several leaders in ophthalmic simulation training. The program debuted in Trujillo, Peru, and has the following training components:

– Training in pediatric anesthesia and emergency situations using a pediaSIM—a pediatric patient mannequin with a comprehensive set of reactive features
– Trainings to treat retina, cataract, strabismus and glaucoma using artificial eyes seated in artificial heads
– Virtual reality diagnostic simulator to help doctors recognize and diagnose a wide range of eye health diseases
– Virtual reality training in cataract and vitreoretinal surgeries
– Desk-top microscopes and consumable equipment used in a wet-lab to simulate a real operating room experience

With its combination of medicine and aviation, Orbis has helped deliver world-class training to thousands of local eye health professionals, thus helping millions receive ophthalmic treatment over the past few decades.

Orbis continues to push forth the fusion between medicine and aviation, striving to make a difference each day in our efforts to fight avoidable blindness around the world. Thanks to the incredible support of Orbis Volunteer Faculty, partners and supporters, Orbis is changing the way the world sees. For more information, please visit us at www.orbis.org.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Come and speak to an Orbis representative in person at the FlyPharma Conference US, taking place in Miami on 11-12 September 2018.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Bourne RRA, Flaxman SR, Braithwaite T, Cicinelli MV, Das A, Jonas JB, et al.; Vision Loss Expert Group. Magnitude, temporal trends, and projections of the global prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Global Health. 2017 Sep;5(9):e888–97.