The flying eye hospital, ORBIS, on a three-week visit to Chennai in November 2002, provided a different kind of learning experience for a select group of eye care professionals in the city. Surgeries were performed aboard the plane where mediapersons and invitees saw them live on big television screens. While students visited the flying hospital, the ORBIS team visited leading eye hospitals in the city including Sankara Nethralaya, a premier eye care centre. ORBIS, the DC-10 jet is equipped with a surgical suite, a laser treatment area, a recovery room, a 48-seater classroom and technical support areas.
The ORBIS team at the Madhuram Narayanan Surgical Complex at Sankara Nethralaya.
The plane has been transformed into a full-fledged ophthalmic training centre. The state-of-the-art technology aboard ORBIS helps treat glaucoma, ocular tumours, retina ailments and neuroophthalmology disorders. Since 1982, ORBIS has completed more than 440 programmes in 80 countries. ORBIS has been involved in preventing blindness the world over.