A healthcare delegation from Singapore visited Dubai last month to discuss major advances in neuroscience – the study of the nervous system, especially the brain – at a pioneering medical event held in the United Arab Emirates.
Neuroscience is one of the most complex areas of contemporary healthcare, affecting the study of human development, neurological diseases, sleep disorders and the nervous system. One of the key highlights for the event was a discussion on the use of virtual reality in the planning of neuroscience surgical approaches. This allows the relevant anatomy to be analyzed using an augmented reality feature to determine surgical approaches.
In the Middle East, neurosurgery is one of the main areas for which patients are referred overseas, primarily due to the inaccessibility or unavailability of medical treatments and expertise required to perform complicated neurological procedures.
Organizers confirmed that this knowledge exchange between Singaporean and regional specialists – held under the aegis of the 3rd Emirates Neuroscience Conference, Dubai –added significantly to the understanding in this field.
The Singapore and Emirates Neuroscience symposium involved collaborative efforts between SingaporeMedicine and Al Baraha Hospital, based in Dubai.
The symposium was designed to build an awareness and an understanding of Singapore’s pioneering work in a several key areas, including neurosurgery, orthopedic and oncology treatments and a whole range of medical care.
“The aim of our participation in the Neuroscience symposium was to showcase Singapore’s advanced services in this field and exchange ideas with our contemporaries from medical institutions like Al Baraha Hospital,” said Dr. Jason Yap, Director, Healthcare Services, Singapore Tourism Board.
“Neuroscience is a rapidly evolving field driven by advances in technology. As our understanding of the human brain grows, there is great potential for the treatment of many difficult conditions,” he added.
Dr. Ivan Ng, head of the Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, presented revolutionary evidence on new three-dimensional modeling techniques being used for neurosurgical planning and navigation. This approach enables specialists to determine surgical approaches without medical intervention and to share specific nuances of neurosurgical approaches.
In addition, Dr. Lim Li Ling, consultant neurologist with the National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore and a visiting consultant at Alexandra Hospital, Egypt, examined some of the medical conditions which neuroscience has the potential to alleviate, including sleep disorders, epilepsy and stroke.
This was the first time that SingaporeMedicine, the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and Singapore Health Services (Singhealth) had participated in the Emirates Neuroscience Conference.
In addition to the featured symposia, the Singapore Delegation had a stand at the conference to share their medical expertise in the neuroscience arena, focusing on technological advances in areas such as optics (neurosurgical operating microscope and neuroendoscopes), spy satellite technology (image guidance surgery), mathematic modeling (stereotactic frames) and imaging.
Singapore, which has been ranked by the World Health Organization as having the finest healthcare system in Asia, is particularly advanced in the quality of its doctors, researchers, high-technology diagnostic equipment and its establishment of several multi-disciplinary units in hospitals.
About SingaporeMedicine
SingaporeMedicine is a multi-agency government initiative driven by the Economic Development Board, Singapore Tourism Board and International Enterprise Singapore. It aims to develop and promote Singapore as a medical hub, and to make Singapore’s world-class healthcare services easily accessible to international patients.
In 2004, more than 320,000 people from around the world, including an increasing number from the Middle East, traveled to multicultural and multilingual Singapore for quality medical care. Providing an integrated focus in areas such as cardiology (heart), ophthalmology (eye) and oncology (cancer), patients receive quality healthcare and advanced treatments delivered by the region’s leading medical professionals.
Hospitals and specialty centers in Singapore offer a comprehensive range of healthcare services, which range from health screening, medical wellness and aesthetic treatments to specialty areas like cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, urology, ophthalmology and oncology. These centers also carry out pioneering research and development, tapping into the growing biomedical research community in Singapore to discover innovative treatments.
