Walailak University (WU), Thailand, has worked with Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH), Taiwan, for the development of health technology to meet the needs of hospitals for their patient care and safety
On August 27th, 2021, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Poonpong Boonbrahm, Dean of School of Informatics of Walailak University, was presenting “Health Care Technology for Patient Safety in Thailand” at The Smart Healthcare Technology and Patient Safety International Conference organized by CCH in collaboration with Walailak University and several partners from Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan https://cch125anniversary0827en.webnode.tw/
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Poonpong Boonbrahm shared his expertise in Augmented Reality (AR) Technology at the conference. He showed how AR Technology helps realize advanced visualization for accurate medical diagnoses, treatments and safety. Augmented Reality (AR) technology is a technology that overlays virtual information generated by digital computers with the real world. The virtual information can be in the form of Multimedia, 3D-Modelling, etc. Using AR technology, the medical doctor can overlay specific patient’s medical images acquired from MRI or CT scans on top of their patient body and visualized them using an AR headset. The process will help doctors visualizing the bones and internal organs of patients without having to open a body. With AR, they can perform accurate, low-risk surgeries much safer than before.
The purpose of this collaborative conference was to raise standards of medical quality and promote the concepts of patient-centered and patient safety and goals of medical hospitals. The health institutions at home and abroad are moving forward to be a high-trust health organization for ultimate benefit to patients’ health and well-being. Therefore, we are working with partner institutions to promote patient safety culture and share advanced technology in healthcare system and education.
Working with global partners in this event also provide valuable opportunities to understand the experiences of medical practitioner, educators and students in different countries, enabling us to design effective medical and health programs that are helping to raise standards of medical education globally and sustainably.
“Today, many medical schools are using AR to provide students with valuable hands-on learning experiences. With AR in education, a medical student can study the human body and its connected systems in a realistic learning environment. Besides helping them understand how the human body works, they can also practice performing a surgical operation on simulated patients. This training will help reduce mistakes in a real-life procedure. In this presentation, AR in patient safety as well as his research on applying AR in medicine in Thailand was present.” explained Dr. Poonpong.
Walailak University and Changhua Christian Medical Foundation and Changhua Christian Hospital in Taiwan officially signed memorandum of understanding in December 2019. After the signing, WU and CCH have been working together to promote health and well-being and medical education as Walailak University Hospital—a teaching hospital in the upper southern region of Thailand, will be fully operated in January 2022 to serve the community and the nation.
