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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – On the occasion of Philips’ sixth consecutive Cape Town to Cairo roadshow, Philips today inaugurated its state-of-the-art MRI technology at St. Paul’s Hospital. As the third largest public sector hospital in Ethiopia, St. Paul’s treats patients coming from all over Ethiopia; the installation of the Philips Achieva 1.5T A-series high-field MRI scanner, will support improvement of diagnostic services and reduction of overseas travel for advanced diagnostics. It’s expected that overtime this modern technology will save many lives at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Dr. Zerihun Abebe , M.D. / Dermatology; Provost for St. Paul’s Hospital, commented, “Having the Philips high-field MRI scanner installed at our hospital is revolutionary as the new technology will enable us to detect diseases with the greatest precision. This advanced MRI scanner will direct surgeons more accurately in preparing for operations. The Philips Achieva 1.5T A-series high-field MRI scanner provides much higher visual representation of soft tissue, glands and organs, and joint and bone structures. Consequently, patients will benefit from earlier diagnosis and treatment options and the ability to receive advanced treatment locally.”
According to is Dr. Tekuam, radiologist and head of department of radiology at Black Lion Hospital, currently in the whole of Ethiopia there are only four MRI scanners serving the entire population of over ninety six million people. In addition to the collaboration with St. Paul’s Hospital, Philips is preparing to add another three of its Achieva MRI scanners to hospitals at locations across Ethiopia, including Black Lion Hospital, Hawassa and Gondar. Philips is dedicated to improving diagnostic healthcare facilities in the country and strives to provide Ethiopian hospitals with a broad range of advanced healthcare technologies.
St. Paul’s Hospital is a referral hospital in Addis Ababa, under the auspices of the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and it “provides services free of charge to about 75% of patients” according to Dr. Zerihun. St. Paul’s Hospital also serves as a medical school, with a current enrolment capacity of up to eight hundred (800) students.
As part of the collaboration with St. Paul’s Hospital, Philips will also provide the medical school with a high-tech educational module in the area of Teleradiology Services, along with a tailored interactive online fellowship program in four subspecialties of Radiology – Cardiothoracic Radiology, Cross Sectional Imaging, Musculoskeletal Radiology and Interventional Radiology. The newly operational Philips Achieva 1.5T A-series high-field MRI will allow students to avail themselves of hands on clinical training, and maximize the detection of disease in the earliest stage possible.
Philips, working with its local channel partner and authorized distributor Memagi Medical Imports PLC is committed to providing continuous education to maintain clinical competencies as well as relevant healthcare technology and services closer to the customer base across Ethiopia.
Philips Achieva’s high scan acceleration provides larger anatomic coverage, higher spatial and temporal resolution and artifact reduction. This performance opens the door to increased patient throughput and the ability to perform leading-edge applications.
Roelof Assies, General Manager, Philips East Africa Limited, states, “At Philips we take a holistic, long-term approach of partnering with local stakeholders to improve healthcare infrastructure. Our ambition is to deliver better and earlier detection and diagnosis, as well as more effective patient treatment in hospitals across Ethiopia. We want to help shorten hospital stays, reduce costs and improve the quality of people’s lives. Advanced medical technologies like MRIs can improve the hospital workflow by shortening exam times and leading to increased diagnostic confidence and a simpler patient and clinician experience overall. With the installation of advanced and easy-to-use Philips Achieve MRI, the level of healthcare diagnosis in St. Paul’s hospital is expected to increase considerably”.
Dr. Zerihun Abebe, St. Paul’s Hospital concluded, “We are extremely delighted with our collaboration with Philips; not only will the Achieve MRI enable us to care for our patients with confidence, but the clinical education and training fellowships being offered by Philips will also contribute to ensuring that the next generation of healthcare staff are educated to the highest standard.”
The announcement at Saint Paul’s Hospital formed part of Philips’ annual pan-African Cape Town to Cairo roadshow that kicked off on 11th May 2015, in Cape Town. Ethiopia is the fifth stop on a journey covering 12,000 km across 11 cities and 8 countries over a period of 4.5 months.
The roadshow has gained significant momentum over the past five years, allowing Philips to get to the heart of some of the key issues facing Africa – including Mother and Child Care, the rise of non-communicable diseases, energy efficient LED and solar lighting solutions, as well as shining a spotlight on the need for clinical education and training.
Follow the Cape Town to Cairo journey via Twitter @PhilipsKenya.
