Rotary International of Park Ridge, IL, is providing a matching $20,000 grant to install an MRS x-ray unit made by Philips Medical Systems of Andover, MA, in Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Installation is planned for December.
The Rotary Club of Asheville, NC, is also supporting purchase of a similar unit for Lusaka, Zambia, that is to be shipped this week.
The system is called the World Health Imaging System for Radiology (WHIS-RAD). The units are part of a World Health Organization plan to develop a primary-care radiological system for use in developing countries. The result is a low-cost, safe, reliable, battery-operated “point-and-shoot” x-ray unit with a fixed source-to-film distance.
Since 1975 about 1,200 WHIS-RAD units have been installed. It is estimated that approximately 80,000 units are needed worldwide. Each x-ray unit comes with a set of manuals describing how to perform procedures, process films, and interpret results.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
December 2, 2002
Related Reading
Rotary awards grant for Africa x-ray system, April 17, 2002
Rotarians assess need for WHIS-RAD imaging system in Zimbabwe, April 2, 2002
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