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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

Marieka Gryzenhout receives NRF-NSTF Award
2013-07-03

 

Dr Gryzenhout
Photo: Sonia Small
03 July 2013

“The award serves to prove that my type of research is truly relevant.” These are the words of Dr Marieka Gryzenhout of the Department of Plant Sciences at the UFS, who received the T W Kambule NRF-NSTF Award as emerging researcher in June 2013.

The award from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) gives recognition to her outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation (SETI) in the country.

Dr Gryzenhout is also part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholar Programme.

“It was an honour to be chosen as a finalist, but to even win it? Die award indicates the importance of fungi and plant pathogens, and their presence in various biological systems and that it is important to identify and categorise significant plant pathogens and fungi to enable easier access for users of these names.”

Dr Gryzenhout was in the US on the evening of the awards ceremony, attending a workshop on the identification and research of another fungus group, Fusarium. “This group is extremely important, since it includes important plant pathogens, producers of toxins in food and feed, as well as animal and human pathogens, and it also plays important ecological roles.”

She attended the Kansas State University in Kansas and paid a visit to the Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens and Mycology Unit of the US Department of Agriculture in Illinois.

Dr Gryzenhout is also a finalist in the Women in Science Awards hosted by the Department of Science and Technology. The winner will be announced in August 2013. Prof Maryke Labuschagne and Rose Lekhooa are also nominees.

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