One reason Orbis is so determined to adapt and forge ahead with our mission despite the pandemic is that we’re facing a daunting challenge: the projected tripling of global blindness by the year 2050. Every member of the collective Orbis family is needed to change this trajectory, from staff and volunteers to partners, donors, the people we serve, and more.

In this episode, we discuss the need for connection and collaboration in the fight against preventable blindness. Nurse Sandy Burnett and pilot Captain Cheryl Pitzer join us to share their Orbis memories and their thoughts on why saving sight matters so much.

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In this episode, we explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and simulation technologies in the fight against global blindness,  the implications of these technologies on the future of eye care, and how the next steps may or may not be influenced by current events.

Guests Dr. Michael Abramoff, Founder and Chairman of Digital Diagnostics; Dr. Nicolas Jaccard, Principal AI Architect at Orbis International; and Captain Cyndhi Berwyn, FedEx Pilot, discuss the use of these cutting-edge technologies in eye care. Dr. Danny Haddad returns to discuss the power of simulation in ongoing education.  

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There are many factors that must be considered as we adapt eye health projects during and after the pandemic. In the first half of this episode, our guests Dr. Umang Mathur, Executive Director at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi, and Dr. Rishi Raj Borah, Orbis Country Director in India, discuss COVID’s impact on eye care in India and how they are adapting.

In the second half of the show, Dr. Rahul Ali, former VP of Africa and Asia Program for Orbis International, and Dr. Munir Ahmed, Country Director for Orbis Bangladesh, share how community-based programs like vision centers are helping to ensure critical eye care can safely continue.

Learn more:

Dr. Mathur’s Cybersight lecture on Systems Management Post COVID Lockdown

Orbis’s work in India

The Rohingya crisis

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Globally, there are 139 million women and girls living with blindness or moderate to severe vision impairment. That’s 25 million more women than men.  

In this episode, guest experts Julia Anderson and Dr. Suzannah Bell help us explore this gender disparity in eye health, and discuss how women will play a critical role in the fight against global blindness as we forge ahead in a very different health landscape.

Julia Anderson is the CEO of the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) and Dr. Suzannah Bell is a Clinical Research Fellow at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Bulgan Orgilsaikhan returns as guest co-host.

Learn more about:

Gender disparity in eye health

Dr. Bell’s research in Nepal

Women in Vision UK

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In this episode, we explore the clinical implications of delays in service resulting from COVID-19 safety measures.

Patients may wait longer for treatment and present with more advanced disease, volunteers may be less available due to backlogs in their own practices, and supply chain disruptions can impact the availability of care.

Our guests, Dr. Carlos Solarte from the University of Alberta; Carolyn Collantes, a consultant on Latin American & Caribbean (LAC) programming; Elisa Urruchi, a staff nurse on the Flying Eye Hospital; and Dr. Marie-Josée Aubin from the University of Montreal share their insights on the continuation of eye health care during a pandemic. Bulgan Orgilsaikhan joins as guest co-host.

Learn more about:

Carolyn’s story of the triplets

Dr. Luz Gordillo’s heroic work with premature babies in Peru

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The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) is an ambassador in the sky. A state-of-the-art ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft, the FEH combines aviation and medicine to fight blindness around the world.

In this episode Bruce Johnson, Director of Aircraft Operations and Maintenance, tells us about the engineering of this one-of-a-kind aircraft, what goes into flying it, and where it is now during the pandemic. Maurice Geary, Director of the Flying Eye Hospital, returns to walk us through the world’s coolest office.

The Flying Eye Hospital was donated by the employees of FedEx.

Take an interactive tour of the Flying Eye Hospital.

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Orbis had big plans for the Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) in 2020. Then COVID-19 changed everything. This episode explores the new learning model Orbis developed to serve countries like Zambia, where FEH projects have been postponed – and how this new model might be used to enrich FEH training projects in the future. Host Dr. Hunter Cherwek is joined by Lucia Nadaf, Country Director of Orbis Zambia, and Maurice Geary, the Director of the Flying Eye Hospital.

For more on the reimagined training project in Zambia and the history of our sight-saving work in the country, visit us at orbis.org.

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Orbis’s pioneering use of telemedicine is proving invaluable during the COVID-19 crisis. In this episode, Dr. Andrea Molinari and Dr. Daniel Neely share their experiences using Cybersight, Orbis’s e-learning and telemedicine platform. We discuss the origins of Cybersight, and the inspiration behind it, with its founder, Dr. Eugene Helveston. Learn the many ways telemedicine is helping save sight – even from a distance.

See Cybersight for yourself at cybersight.org!

For more on Dr. Daniel Neely: www.orbis.org/en/people/heroes-of-orbis/dr-daniel-neely

For more on Dr. Andrea Molinari’s inspiring work: www.orbis.org/en/news/2020/orbis-teacher-student

For more on Dr. Eugene Helveston, Cybersight, and the role of telemedicine: www.orbis.org/en/news/2020/cybersight-dr-gene-helveston

Share our vision? Visit donate.orbis.org and help us change the way the world sees!