BC Innovation Saving Lives in Africa with Mobile Surgical Skills Training
Surrey, BC (PRWEB) March 13, 2017 -- Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) and Conquer Mobile announce that they are collaborating on innovative education technology that will reduce injury mortality rates in Africa by teaching surgical skills to African healthcare workers. Using mobile skills training, CNIS will scale up training by a factor of 10, with a goal of treating 2 million patients in the next 3 years. The project will be showcased at the BC Tech Summit at the Vancouver Convention Centre March 14-15.
Project MOST
The CNIS Mobile Optimized Skills Training (MOST) project uses mobile surgical skills training to accelerate the number of African healthcare workers that can be taught essential surgical skills. The solution uses avatars and case-based skills training to provide a pragmatic, active learning experience.
The Social Challenge: Reduce Maternal and Injury Mortality Rates in Africa
Women in Africa are 10 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in the Americas. 13% of Africans will die from an injury. CNIS’ goal is to reduce the maternal and injury mortality rates for people in Africa, where there are simply not enough skilled healthcare workers.
The Innovative Technology: Mobile Surgical Skills Training
The CNIS Mobile Optimized Skills Training (MOST) project uses mobile surgical skills training to accelerate the number of healthcare workers that can be taught essential surgical skills. Unlike existing face-to-face courses which are taught by visiting doctors to a limited group, MOST will enable skill sharing in the community long after visiting teams have left. Project Video
The Social Impact: Train 25,000 African healthcare workers, Treat 2 million patients
Over the past 20 years, CNIS has trained 150 Canadian medical professionals, 750 African course instructors and 25,000 African healthcare workers. With Project MOST, CNIS will accelerate this by a factor of 10. With 5 mobile courses, CNIS will train 25,000 African healthcare workers in the next 3 years and treat 2 Million patients.
“Right now, we visit communities in Africa and teach surgical skills face to face,” explained Dr. Ronald Lett, founder of CNIS and surgeon at Surrey Memorial Hospital. “Using mobile training, we will not only teach ten times more people, but they can also be learning essential skills before we visit and sharing skills long after we are gone. It’s about repetition, reinforcement and reach.”
“We are excited to be part of a project that will literally save lives,” remarked Kathy O’Donoghue, Managing Director of Conquer Mobile. “The whole company is inspired by such tangible goals and the potentially huge social impact. The first version will be used in trials in Ethiopia in April. It is a very exciting milestone for all of us.”
Project to be featured at BC Tech Summit
For the local BC Technology community, the collaboration between a local nonprofit and a local software company is a showcase example of using local BC innovation to make a global social impact. The project will be presented at the BC Tech Summit, taking place March 14-15 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, in the “Where in the World is our #BCTECH?” stream.
Surrey’s Innovation Boulevard makes collaboration easier
For Dr Ronald Lett and the team at Conquer Mobile, being neighbours in Surrey makes collaboration much easier. Dr Lett operates at Surrey Memorial Hospital, adjacent to Conquer Mobile’s offices in the Health Tech Innovation Hub in Surrey’s Health and Technology District on Innovation Boulevard. “I have a very busy schedule and cases can often run longer than expected,” commented Dr Lett. “When the latest version of the software is ready for review, I can simply walk across the street and meet with the team.”
About CNIS: Sharing Skills, Saving Lives
CNIS is committed to empowering low-income countries to create an environment where the risk from injuries is minimal and that all people receive adequate healthcare. CNIS believes in sharing knowledge, expertise and experience to promote lasting and sustainable improvements in health and safety in the developing world. Since 1995, CNIS has tailored 12 courses and qualified more than 150 Canadian surgeons, obstetricians, anesthetists, and nurses to teach their counterparts overseas. They have gone on to train more than 25,000 healthcare practitioners in a variety of lifesaving surgical skills.
About Conquer Mobile
Conquer Mobile delivers ‘Education as an Experience’. The company is a specialist in education technology with deep expertise in UX, VR, simulation and gamification. Since 2009 the team has been creating innovative custom mobile solutions for businesses in North America. Current focus areas are: medical simulation, enterprise safety and custom healthcare training.
Helen Goddard, Conquer Mobile Inc, http://www.conquermobile.com, +1 (778) 232-8592, [email protected]
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