ORBIS International
ORBIS International is an international non -governmental organization ( NGO), the treatment and prevention of blindness, visual impairment and eye diseases in developing countries is devoted to.
The organization has its headquarters in New York and maintains offices in Houston, Ottawa, London, Hong Kong and Taipei. It operates an aircraft which serves as a flying eye hospital in developing countries.
History
ORBIS was founded in 1982 with the help of funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID ) and private donations. The first flying eye hospital was a Douglas DC -8 ( N220RB ), donated by United Airlines. In the first two years of its use, this aircraft visited 24 countries.
End of the 1980s it became apparent that a larger plane is needed. With the help of private donations, a McDonnell Douglas was in 1992, DC-10 bought for 14 million U.S. dollars, and rebuilt in 18 months in an eye clinic, which further $ 15 million cost. The first flight after the conversion took place on 7 May 1994, and July 23, led the first mission to Beijing.
The Flying Eye Hospital
The aircraft with the registration N220AU is a McDonnell Douglas DC-10- 10th The machine dates back to 1970 and is the second ever built DC - 10th After being used as a test aircraft for McDonnell Douglas flew for Laker Airways. After that she had several other owners until it was bought in 1992 by ORBIS.
The aircraft accommodates, among other things:
- A classroom: Here you can 48 spectators, mostly medical professionals in the host country, the treatment followed live or view recordings of earlier treatments. Also, here presentations and panel discussions will take place.
- An audio- visual space: From here, the 16 film cameras, eight microphones and 54 screens are controlled on board, cut the records and reproduced for local eye doctors.
- A laser - Room: This is where laser diagnostic equipment, laboratory jobs for the training of the eyes of animals.
- An operating room: This is located in the center of the aircraft, because it is the most stable region of the aircraft, which may be important in case of bad weather.
On the lower deck there is a technology center, where the ORBIS engineers show the local technicians how the ophthalmic specialist equipment serviced and repaired.
2013 N220AU is replaced by a donated FedEx MD -10 -30 ( N330AU, No. 96, built in 1973 ).
Other services
ORBIS maintains in addition to the flying eye hospital and permanent assistance programs in hospitals in several countries, and works with local researchers and public health authorities on the treatment of eye diseases and the prevention of blindness. ORBIS is currently working among others in Ethiopia, Bangladesh (along with the Islamia Eye Hospital ), the People 's Republic of China, India and Vietnam ( 2005). In addition, there are also short-term exposures in hospitals where there is no landing facilities for the aircraft.
A new program called Cyber -Sight are eye doctors over the Internet, the possibility of virtual collaboration and online counseling.
ORBIS is with the World Health Organization, a founding member of the Vision 2020: The Right to Sight. This aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020 around the world.