ITU - Telemedicine & e-Health Training Centre, Holy Family Hospital

Following their disaster relief work in 2005 earthquake in Pakistan the Telemedicine & e-Health Training Center under Dr Asif Zafar signed an MOU with International Telecommunication Union(ITU).

On 10th December 2007, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Telemedicine & e-Health Training Center, Holy Family Hospital of Rawalpindi in Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cooperation in Disaster Preparedness and Response through Telemedicine and e-Health.

The Parties have already successfully collaborated in the area of telemedicine and emergency telecommunications following the massive earthquake that struck the Pakistan-India border area in October 2005 during which a total of 25 medical doctors were trained in the use of 55 satellite terminals in delivering telemedicine services and applications. The Parties intend to implement joint projects/activities, share information on e-Health, and cooperate on enhancing access to information related to emergency telecommunications and telemedicine for disaster preparedness and disaster relief.

Surgical Unit II

Where Technology Meets Medicine


http://www.telemedicine.pk/surgicalunit2folder/index.html

Project covered by Planet Earth (Technology's Impact & Human Affairs)

An interesting article on Dr Asif's project.

http://imranhkhan.com/2010/07/04/cost-effective-training-system-for-laparoscopic-and-robotic-surgery/

About Dr Asif Zafar Malik

This blog is about the pioneering work that is being undertaken by Dr Asif Zafar Malik M.D in Pakistan. Even though Dr Asif is a surgeon by profession, he is passionate about the use of technology for solving problems in his field. His pioneering work includes a number of US and Pakistan funded projects related to Tele-Medicine, Tele-rehabilitaion, Tele-consulting, Laparoscopic surgical training using state of the art simulators etc. He also has a number of ongoing projects, prominent among them is a collaborative project between Holy Family Hospital and National University of Sciences and Technology titled "Development of a Tele-Surgical Training Robot and Simulator".

In this blog I will be writing about the projects that Dr Asif has undertaken and the projects that he is currently undertaking. So more details about all the projects mentioned in this post will be detailed in upcoming blogs.

Dr Asif is one of the pioneers of Ehealth, Tele-medicine and MinimaI Invasive Surgical methods in Pakistan. He currently holds many positions including

• Professor of Surgery, Rawalpindi Medical College
• Consultant Surgeon and Head of Surgical Unit II, Holy Family Hospital, Pakistan
  
• Project Director Telemedicine/E-Health Training Center, Holy Family Hospital, Pakistan
• Joint Project Director and originator of the National ICT R&D funded project "Development of a Tele-Surgical Training System and Simulator" being undertaken in collaboration with National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Pakistan
  
• President, E-Health Association of Pakistan (ehap)
  

His work for the 2005 Earthquake relief in Pakistan was recognized the world over including ITU, who signed an MOU with his team to share their expertise in case of similar earthquakes around the world. His initiative of Tele-consultation has up till now provided consultations to 4,412 patients (more details coming later).

The purpose of maintaining this blog is to promote the good work that is being done in Pakistan and to create opportunities for further projects and collaborations. If you think you have an idea that you can work on with Dr Asif, he can be contacted at (azmalik[at]hotmail.com).