Egerton University, in partnership with the Kenya Education Network (KENET), has rolled out a virtual digital platform that will connect medical students with surgeons located in different operating theatres around the world through high-capacity internet.
Egerton University Vice Chancellor Professor Isaac Kibwage said that through the platform, Egerton University medical students will be able to watch live and pre-recorded surgery procedures and training in 360-degree virtual reality (VR).
Professor Kibwage explained that the collaboration will leverage digital tools to improve surgical training and data-driven research under KENET’s Teaching Hospitals Connectivity Initiative, including eduroam and surgical theatre telepresence systems.
He said the virtual reality training allows surgery students to watch, and once they are confident of their skill, they get assessed and are allowed to operate, adding that the technology was affordable and accessible, with the medical content being free as the physician only needed an internet connection and a phone.
Traditionally, student doctors have been working with highly sophisticated mannequins, simulations, or donated cadavers, which are said to be expensive to set up, complicated, and limited in how many students they could reach at a time.
The VC was happy that the University’s medical students and trainees will be able to prepare for procedures without the assistance of busy consultants, a move he said will reduce surgical errors and shorten the learning curve for trainees.
“Our students will now hone their skills through a live video conference surgery (VCS) demonstration with experts abroad,” stated the VC.
Professor Kibwage indicated that through the partnership, blended content will be developed using ‘Proximie’, a platform widely used by surgical specialists.
He explained that Proximie provides the necessary technical infrastructure for a more integrated approach to surgical services within hospitals, adding that by serving as a centralised hub connecting operating room operations, the platform enhances knowledge sharing, oversight, collaboration, and strategic development.
The VC noted that the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital was the fourth in Kenya to embrace ‘Proximie’ a global health technology platform that digitises operating rooms (ORs) and diagnostic rooms with a mission to deliver a connected surgical platform to help provide quality surgical care.
The effectiveness of this technology has also been recognised by Kenyatta National Hospital and the University of Nairobi.
Given the great leap in fibre optic technology, a prerequisite in live surgery due to the delicate nature of operations, Prof. Kibwage said doctors could now tap the innovation to improve the quality of surgeries and treatment they give.
The Surgical VR system, which is said to integrate a specialised camera and software strategically placed for surgical training, became a concept during the COVID-19 pandemic, where medical students could practice skills without risking their health.
KENET Executive Director Professor Meoli Kashorda indicated that the ‘Proximie’ platform offers a unique opportunity for medical students and professionals to observe live surgeries, participate in simulations, and learn from leading experts worldwide.
He pointed out that by integrating ‘Proximie’s’ platform in the training of medical surgeons, the collaboration between KENET and Egerton University was creating an ecosystem that enables greater support and innovation, elevating the standards of care.
According to the Executive Director, the technology presents a unique chance for surgeons and medical students across the world to share knowledge and experiences and grow each other’s individual and collective capacity in their service to humanity.
Although video conferencing has been in the country for almost two decades, its application in the medical field was largely limited to remote consultations between doctors since previously, Kenya lacked the necessary internet capacities.
According to its founder, Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram, every ‘Proximie’ procedure can be recorded, analysed, and leveraged for future use to help inform best practice.
By connecting operating rooms globally, ‘Proximie’ is facilitating a rich, insightful data set, which she said feeds best practices into the entire global healthcare ecosystem.
‘Proximie’ has been deployed in over 800 hospitals across 50 countries on five continents and has contracts with over 40 major medical device companies with access to 90 per cent of operating rooms and diagnostic suites in the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU).
By Esther Mwangi
