ORBIS International
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ORBIS International is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of blindness , visual impairment and eye diseases in developing countries.
The organization is based in New York and has offices in Houston , Ottawa , London, Hong Kong and Taipei . She operates an aircraft that serves as a flying eye clinic in developing countries.
history
ORBIS was founded in 1982 with the help of funds from the US Agency for International Development and private donations. The first flying eye clinic was a Douglas DC-8 (N220RB) donated by United Airlines . In the first two years of its service, this aircraft visited 24 countries.
In the late 1980s it became apparent that a larger aircraft was needed. With the help of private donations, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was purchased for 14 million US dollars in 1992 , and converted into an eye clinic in 18 months, which cost a further 15 million US dollars. The first flight after the conversion took place on May 7, 1994, and on July 23 the first mission was to Beijing.
The flying eye clinic
The aircraft with registration N220AU is a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 . The machine dates from 1970 and is the second DC-10 ever built. After being used as a test aircraft for McDonnell Douglas , she flew for Laker Airways . After that it had several other owners until it was bought by ORBIS in 1992.
The aircraft accommodates, among other things:
- A classroom: Here 48 guests, mostly doctors from the host country, can follow the treatment live or view records of previous treatments. Lectures and discussions are also held here.
- an audio-visual room: From here the 16 film cameras, eight microphones and 54 screens on board are controlled, the recordings are cut and reproduced for the local ophthalmologists.
- a laser room: Here there are laser diagnostic devices and laboratory workstations for training on the eyes of animals.
- an operating theater : This is in the middle of the aircraft because it is the most stable area of the aircraft, which can be important in bad weather.
A technical center is located on the lower deck, in which the ORBIS engineers show the local technicians how the special ophthalmic devices are maintained and repaired.
In 2013, the N220AU was replaced by a FedEx donated MD-10-30 ( N330AU , No. 96, built in 1973).
further services
In addition to the flying eye clinic, the organization also has ongoing aid programs in hospitals in several countries, and works with local researchers and health authorities on the treatment of eye diseases and protection against blindness. ORBIS is currently (as of 2008) working in Ethiopia , Bangladesh (together with the Islamia Eye Hospital ), the People's Republic of China, India and Vietnam (as of 2005). There are also short-term engagements in hospitals where there is no possibility for the plane to land.
A new program called Cyber-Sight gives ophthalmologists the option of virtual collaboration and online consultation via the Internet .
The organization is a founding member of the Vision 2020 initiative : The Right to Sight , along with the World Health Organization . This aims to eliminate avoidable blindness worldwide by 2020.
See also
Filmography
- Super Aircraft Series : Follow Orbis DC-10 . Discovery Channel 2012 (D: DMAX ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ ORBIS's Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) Housed in a DC-10 Takes Center-Stage at 2012 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Airshow ( Memento from September 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )