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21 November 2019 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Charl Devenish
Ultrasound read more
Checking out some features of the Samsung ultrasound system are, from the left: SSEM Mthembu Medical's Chase Hutchinson and Jannie Coetzee; Head of Anaesthesiology, Dr Edwin Turton; and Head of Undergraduate Training in Anaesthesiology, Prof Lomby Odendaal.
Medical students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS will now be able to learn how to perform procedures such as the precise location of a vein for intravenous lines and for diagnostic procedures such as detecting abnormalities in pregnancies, identifying gallstones, and diagnosing trauma-related injuries with ease.  This will be made possible by the placement of a one-of-a-kind ultrasound machine – putting them on par with cutting-edge global medical technology.

A first ever in the medical curriculum of undergraduate students at the UFS

The state-of-the-art, compact HS70A Samsung ultrasound system to the value of R1,4 million was unveiled in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Clinical Simulation and Skills Unit on 19 November. A first ever in the medical curriculum of undergraduate students at the UFS, it is set to revolutionise the delivery of health-care education in the faculty, said Prof Lomby Odendaal, Teaching and Learning Coordinator for undergraduate anaesthesiology training in the Department of Anaesthesiology.

The ultrasound system was donated by SSEM Mthembu Medical and Samsung Korea.
Prof Odendaal said for the first time in the history of the undergraduate MB ChB curriculum, the ultrasound will be available to medical students from their third year. Students have never had the opportunity to be trained in using ultrasound this early in their careers.

Improved clinical training experience of students

Ultrasound is a diagnostic medical tool that uses sound waves to produce images of internal structures of the body. Prof Odendaal said ultrasound is important to determine pathology and diseases in the body and to provide point-of-care ultrasound. Having the ultrasound in the unit will transform the clinical training experience of students, training them to provide better treatment and medical care, even in constrained environments, to improve patient care.

“There is almost no structure in the body that cannot be examined using ultrasound. It makes the delivery of healthcare more effective. If you make a better diagnosis, the treatment and care will be much better. Ultrasound is so important lately that if you don’t do it, you will be left behind. That’s why we decided to bring this to the students. We can’t miss out on teaching our students about ultrasound, because we want them to be familiar with it by the time they finish their medical degree, so that, even if they go to smaller hospitals, they will be able to spread diagnostic care to the periphery,” Prof Odendaal said.

Streamlined workflow for patient care

“The cutting-edge technology and rich image quality of the ultrasound will deliver top-notch diagnoses to suit the diverse departments within the faculty,” said Chase Hutchinson, National Product Manager at SSEM Mthembu Medical. It comes with various pre-set models to cater for different needs and applications, allowing streamlined workflow for higher efficiency and patient care.

According to Prof Mathys Labuschagne, the Head of the Clinical Simulation and Skills Unit, ultrasound training will improve the quality of doctors graduating in the faculty. “We are really excited about this. You can diagnose many conditions using ultrasound and deliver point-of-care ultrasound; this will become a natural part of students’ training and clinical practice in future.”

News Archive

Carbon dioxide makes for more aromatic decaffeinated coffee
2017-10-27


 Description: Carbon dioxide makes for more aromatic decaffeinated coffee 1b Tags: Carbon dioxide makes for more aromatic decaffeinated coffee 1b 

The Inorganic Group in the Department of Chemistry
at the UFS is systematically researching the utilisation
of carbon dioxide. From the left, are, Dr Ebrahiem Botha,
Postdoctoral Fellow; Mahlomolo Khasemene, MSc student;
Prof André Roodt; Dr Marietjie Schutte-Smith, Senior Lecturer;
and Mokete Motente, MSc student.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Several industries in South Africa are currently producing hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide a year, which are released directly into the air. A typical family sedan doing around 10 000 km per year, is annually releasing more than one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Inorganic Chemistry Research Group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with the University of Zurich in Switzerland, has focused in recent years on using carbon dioxide – which is regarded as a harmful and global warming gas – in a meaningful way. 

According to Prof André Roodt, Head of Inorganic Chemistry at the UFS, the Department of Chemistry has for the past five decades been researching natural products that could be extracted from plants. These products are manufactured by plants through photosynthesis, in other words the utilisation of sunlight and carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other nutrients from the soil.

Caffeine and chlorophyll 
“The Inorganic group is systematically researching the utilisation of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants through chlorophyll and used to make interesting and valuable compounds and sugars, which in turn could be used for the production of important new medicines,” says Prof Roodt.

Caffeine, a major energy enhancer, is also manufactured through photosynthesis in plants. It is commonly found in tea and coffee, but also (artificially added) in energy drinks. Because caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system and reduces fatigue and drowsiness, some people prefer decaffeinated coffee when enjoying this hot drink late at night. 

Removing caffeine from coffee could be expensive and time-consuming, but also environmentally unfriendly, because it involves the use of harmful and flammable liquids. Some of the Inorganic Group’s research focus areas include the use of carbon dioxide for the extraction of compounds, such as caffeine from plants. 

“Therefore, the research could lead to the availability of more decaffeinated coffee products. Although decaffeinated coffee is currently aromatic, we want to investigate further to ensure better quality flavours,” says Prof Roodt.

Another research aspect the team is focusing on is the use of carbon dioxide to extract chlorophyll from plants which have medicinal properties themselves. Chemical suppliers sell chlorophyll at R3 000 a gram. “In the process of investigating chlorophyll, our group discovered simpler techniques to comfortably extract larger quantities from green vegetables and other plants,” says Prof Roodt.

Medicines
In addition, the Inorganic Research Group is also looking to use carbon dioxide as a building block for more valuable compounds. Some of these compounds will be used in the Inorganic Group’s research focus on radiopharmaceutical products for the identification and possibly even the treatment of diseases such as certain cancers, tuberculosis, and malaria.

 

 

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