Fujifilm ME FZE Launches
SonoXperts POCUS Academy
SonoXperts POCUS Academy
To spread awareness of ultrasound’s importance across Africa, Fujifilm Middle East and Africa (ME FZE), in association with High Tech Medical and the Department of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has inaugurated the SonoXperts Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Centre, the first such training facility of the SonoXperts POCUS Academy program. The training center is at Cape Town’s premier teaching hospital Groote Shuur Hospital, located at the slopes of the majestic Table Mountain. SonoXperts Cape Town is ready to serve the medical community of sub-Saharan Africa, bringing together POCUS experts and students to build a robust network of “SonoSite super-users.”
Department of Anaesthesia head Dr. Justiaan Swanevelder, along with anesthesiology professors Drs. Bruce Biccar, Rob Dyer, and Ross Hofmeyr, discussed the pivotal role the department plays in teaching POCUS across Africa with Mr. Jun Higuchi, Chairman and CEO of Fujifilm SonoSite and President and CEO of Fujifilm ME FZE. Mr. Higuchi was joined by Fujifilm ME FZE Business Director Y. Safak Cenik.
The SonoXperts POCUS Academy’s mission is to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge and development of POCUS in the fields of medicine and biology, and to empower physicians and other advanced care professionals to get the best possible outcomes in their patient-centric practices. The Academy will propose standards and give advice concerning criteria for optimum POCUS apparatus, techniques, and diagnoses. Through rigorous assessments and continual learning, the Academy sets out to improve global health and create the standards of excellence for POCUS while honoring the distinguished professionals who provide that care.
Fujifilm ME FZE is providing SonoXperts Cape Town with an X-Porte system and four transducers, including a TEExp. The UCT doctors have also started to use the X-Porte for their research and scientific papers. The SonoXperts inauguration coincided with one of Groote Shuur’s world-renowned Advanced FATE courses, facilitated by Drs. Matthew Gibbs and Adriaan Myburgh. The Advanced FATE courses will be hosted at the department throughout the year.
Department of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, University of Cape Town
The UCT Department of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine is located at Groote Schuur Hospital. Groote Shuur Hospital gained international recognition when Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant there in 1967. Department head Dr. Swanevelder is a recognized POCUS expert, having published several textbook chapters on transesophageal echocardiography ultrasound (TEE). The department has several subdivisions:- Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Rondebosch
- New Somerset Hospital, Green Point
- Mowbray Maternity Hospital, Mowbray
- Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital, Observatory
- Maitland Cottage Hospital, Newlands (Paediatric orthopaedics)
The Centre for Pain Management at Groote Shuur manages patients with chronic pain, with an acute pain service available for postoperative patients. The Centre is multi-disciplinary, including anesthetists, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists.
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