INAUGURATION OF ARAVIND’S ONLINE VIRTUAL OPHTHALMIC ACADEMY
Aravind-Madurai, January 19, 2008
Aravind’s online Virtual Ophthalmic Academy was inaugurated on January 19, 2008 by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, former President of India. Dr.Sathyamurthy, Director, ANTRIX Corp., ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) addressed the function attended by distinguished guests and ophthalmologists. Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman, Aravind Eye Care System, delivered welcome address.
      Networking of leading eye care providers will help in sharing of knowledge, which will ultimately facilitate research in finding cure for diseases unique to the region, said Dr. Abdul Kalam in his inaugural address at Aravind Eye Hospital. He mooted networking of the hospital with leading eye care providers such as Sankara Netralaya. Periodic virtual meetings among them to discuss diseases unique to the region would even help in research in emerging areas.
      Stressing that knowledge should rule the pursuits of the AVA, Mr. Kalam said such a knowledge would blossom from creativity, righteousness and courage. L. Sathyamurthy, Director, Antrix Corporation, Indian Space Research Organisation, underscored the ambition of the organisation to apply space technology for the benefit of society.
      With the VSAT connectivity provided by ISRO, the classes conducted at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai will be telecasted live to classes conducted in various centres. The transmission will also be recorded simultaneously in softwares which could be utilised later at the convenience of the students.

INAUGURATION OF NATHAM VISION CENTER
Natham, January 28, 2008
The Natham vision center was inaugurated on January 28. The distance between Madurai & Natham is 36 km. It was inaugurated by Director Dr.M.Srinivasan. On the first day there were 90 cases. This is the highest OP on the day of inauguration of vision centers.







INAUGURATION OF ARAVIND-TOPCON CENTRE
Aravind-Madurai, January 29, 2008
MADURAI: An advanced centre for retina diseases has been established at Aravind Eye Hospital here in association with Topcon South Asia Pvt. Ltd, Singapore, with state-of-the art equipment for training and research in retinal diseases.
      Mr. Calvin Lee, Director, Topcon South Asia, who inaugurated the facility, ‘Aravind-Topcon Centre for Diseases of Retina and Vitreous,’ on Tuesday said that Topcon was proud to be associated with Aravind Eye Hospital, a reputed eye care institution.
      “We have developed software for treatment and management of eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy which has become a major cause of blindness in the world. Our objective is to establish Aravind Eye Hospital as a leading centre in the country for retina care,” Mr. Lee said.
      Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman, Aravind Eye Care System, said that the hospital already had a retina centre and what had come up now was an advanced facility that had sophisticated equipment/latest technology that would be good for teaching and training purposes.
      “We will now be able to give exposure to the latest equipment for our students. The centre will help us improve human resource for eye care,” Dr. Namperumalsamy said.
      Dr. R. Kim, Chief, Retina Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, who presented a project report, said a three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (OCT) installed at the centre was the highlight and it would provide hands-on training to students and doctors.
- Courtesy: THE HINDU

- Mr. Christian and Ms. Johanna, IESE Business School, Spain visited Aravind-Madurai from January 4-9, to understand the Aravind Model and observe Community Outreach Camp.
  - Dr. Dare Anderson with his family, CHC, USA visited Aravind-Madurai from January 3-6, to take session for Heads of Eye Hospitals course.
  - Mr. DVR Seshadri with his family, IIM, Bangalore visited Aravind-Madurai from January 8-10 to discuss case study on Aravind with our team and Prof. Prasad.
  - Ms. Sumona Chaudhury, Ms. Thandeka Myeni and Ms. Naomi Odell, Harvard School of Public Health visited Aravind-Madurai from January 13-19 to get one week externship training at Aravind-Madurai and its surrounding areas.
  - Mr. Michael Johnson, Assignee, Adopt a Business visited Aravind-Madurai from January 15-22 to help in streamlining the managed care activities and share good HR practices of IBM with AECS.
  - Prof.Jerome T. Murphy, Dean Emeritus, Harold Howe II Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA visited Aravind-Madurai from January 16-19, to get updated in case studies of Aravind as well as to teach.
  - Team from University of Masstricht, Holland visited Aravind-Madurai from January 18-19 to see the Aravind Excellence in Health Care sector like patient logistics lay out of the facilities, IT etc.
  - Ms. Diana Rogers, USA visited Aravind-Madurai from January 22-24 to see Aravind facilities.
  - Dr. Kibata Githeko, Nairobi visited Aravind-Madurai from January 26-30 to learn our experiences of DR to serve in Nairobi.
  - Mr. Jeffrey Parker, Editorial Director and Mr. Ryan Pyle, Photographer Ophthalmology World Report visited Aravind-Madurai from January 28-30 to see the facilities at Aravind.
  - Prof. Jay Enoch visited Aravind-Madurai from January 27-28 to help us in setting up and plan for developing our Optometry School facilities.
  - Mr. Richard Cash, Harvard Business School, USA visited Aravind-Madurai from January 28-29, to have some update on the externship Programme for their university students.
  - Ms. Marain Fernanda with her team, 2.5 sector projects, Brazil, visited Aravind-Madurai from January 28-29 to bring successful cases of social entrepreneurs and social business by interviewing Senior Leadership Team members of AECS.
  - Mr. Leon, Ms. Sarah Ellwein and Dr. Pierre Huguet visited Aravind-Madurai from January 31-February 4, to develop our capacities in the areas of Epidemiology, Clinical trails, Health systems Research and Bio-statistics and centralized data management for the Presbyopia studies.

ALL THE WAY FROM MALDIVES TO MADURAI...
Aravind's Paediatric Ophthalmology Clinic attracts patients not only from India but from abroad as well.
      Recently a 12-year-old boy from the Maldives came to Aravind-Madurai for treatment for nystagmus.The boy, after receiving proper treatment, gained better vision and his letter expressing heartfelt gratitude to Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi (Head of the Paediatric Clinic) literally moved us.
      The 12 year old boy Javed (real name concealed) had been suffering from oscillating motions in his eyes since childhood. His parents consulted a local ophthalmologist who suggested Aravind Eye Hospital would be the best place to receive proper treatment.
      In the Paediatric Ophthalmology Clinic, Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi examined Javed’s eyes and reassured the parents that the hospital will do its best to mitigate the boy’s difficulties and help him gain improved vision.
      It was clearly explained to the patient and his parents that nystagmus is a serious eye disease which causes the eyes to move in an uncontrollable manner so that those affliced with it cannot keep their eyes still. This condition is the direct result of instability in the motor nervous system that controls the eyes. The eyes of the nystagmus patients will involuntarily move from side to side and sometimes may swing up and down or in a circular movement. Most people with this problem face reduced vision and other difficulties.
      Nystagmus can be congenital (meaning that it occurs at birth or in early childhood) or it can be acquired later in life due to neurological diseases. Children with congenital cataracts, glaucoma, and some retina problems may develop nystagmus. It may also be found in children who have multiple disabilities. “Acquired Nystagmus” that develops later in life may be a symptom of a stroke, multiple sclerosis or a blow to the head. It may be the first sign of a serious disorder of the eye or the brain.
      Heredity also may cause nystagmus. Due to the visual impairment caused by this eye condition, the patients will find it difficult to read small letters and experience difficulty in moving from place to place. They may get tired more easily than other people because of the extra effort involved in looking at things.
      Javed’s parents learned at Aravind that while nystagmus cannot be cured, there are treatments which can help the patient improve his vision.
      When Javed and his parents left Aravind, their hearts were overwhelming with feelings of joy and gratitude which got well-expressed in the letter he has written to Dr. P.Vijayalakshmi:
      “Dear Madam (My hearty doctor)
My mom, dad, and myself really had a tough time due to nystagmus in my eyes. We had to undergo many problems and difficulties. But now madam has brightened our lives and today I can see the world much better without any difficulties. Thank god who helped my madam achieve this. We will never ever forget you and the nurses and staff of Aravind Hospital, Madurai.
-Javed”

Source : C.N.Ramalakshmi, Counsellor
Script : K.V.S. Lakshmanan

JANUARY 2008
Hospitals	Madurai	Theni	Tirunelveli	Coimbatore	Puducherry		Total
HOSPITAL OUT-PATIENT VISITS
Paying (New-Review)	32,336	5,294	14,759	20,324	12,777	13,861	99,351
Free (Direct walk-in)	16,958	3,188	8,445	14,879	6,064	-	49,534
OUTREACH OUT PATIENTS
Regular Eye Camps	6,765	2,127	3,973	7,593	2,287	7,641	30,386
Diabetic Retinopathy Camps	-	-	1,184	1,685	470	-	3,339
Refractive Camps	1,531	509	521	120	163	482	3,326
School Eye Screening	6,620	-	-	-	-	1,155	7,775
Vision Centres	1,879	1,951	907	506	498	-	5,741
Community Eye Clinics	2,629	-	1,814	1,845	-	-	6,288
Total OP Examinations	68,718	13,069	31,603	46,952	22,259	23,139	205,740
SURGERIES
Paying	3,688	306	1,309	2,085	976	700	9,064
Free (including the subsidized camp surgeries)	1,500	163	593	1,251	443	-	3,950
Through Outreach	1,796	290	801	1,444	484	1,785	6,600
Total Surgeries	6,984	759	2,703	4,780	1,903	2,485	19,614