News and notices. Comm Eye Health Vol. 23 No. 73 2010. September 13, 2010

Useful resources: equipment for eye care

Publications

IAPB Standard list for a VISION 2020 Eye Care Service Unit 2010. Lists the equipment, instruments, and supplies required by primary and secondary level (district) eye care units, along with suppliers and their addresses. Download from the VISION 2020 website www.vision2020.org or order a copy from TALC (send your name, occupation, and address).

Stevens S and Naughton A (eds). Technology for VISION 2020. Contains selected and updated articles on technology for ophthalmic practice from the Community Eye Health Journal. Available for free download from www.cehjournal.org (1.9 MB, or can be downloaded in smaller sections). Order paper copies from TALC (free to low- and middle-income countries, otherwise £5).

Srinivasan V and Thulsiraj RD. Ophthalmic instruments and equipment: a handbook on care and maintenance. 2003. Available from Aravind (UK £1,40 / Indian Rs100) Or download from http://laico.org/v2020resource/files/ instruments_book.pdf (780 kB).

Video/DVD

Ophthalmic instruments and equipment: care and maintenance By V Srinivasan and RD Thulasiraj. A stepby-step guide to the care and maintenance of ophthalmic instruments and equipment. Video (PAL format only): order from TALC (UK £7). DVD: order from Aravind (UK £7/Indian Rs500). Has English, Spanish, and French language options.

Past Community Eye Health Journal articles

Vidhya SS, Srinivasan V. Technology for eye care: training in the care of equipment and instruments. Comm Eye Health J 2002; Issue 43, pages 43–44.

Srinivasan V. Equipment repaired is equipment gained. Comm Eye Health J 2009, Issue 70, s02 (online supplement, page 2).

RD Thulasiraj and V Srinivasan. Care of instruments and equipment: a success story. Comm Eye Health J 2007; Issue 61, page 16.

Equipment courses

ORBIS International conducts two-week workshops on ophthalmic equipment maintenance and health care technology management worldwide. For more information, contact [email protected] or write to him at ORBIS International, 520 8th Ave, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA.

Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO) in Madurai runs six-week training courses for technicians that are repeated four times a year (US $325). LAICO offers shorter courses (two, three or four weeks) on invitation at a range of different countries. Visit www.aravind.org/education/coursedetails.asp or write to Prof V Srinivasan, LAICO, 72, Kuruvikaran Salai, Gandhi Nagar, Madurai 625 020, Tamil Nadu, India.

Other resources

The Eye Care Equipment Maintainers Discussion Group is intended as a meeting point for people who use or maintain ophthalmic equipment or are interested in learning more. You can ask questions, share successes, or discuss any problems you are having with your ophthalmic equipment. Visit http://groups.google.com/group/eye-careequipment-maintainers to join in.

Visit the World Health Organization site http://who.ceb.unicamp.br/ for an up-to-date list of the available training units for biomedical equipment technicians and clinical engineers worldwide. Requires a Flash plug-in.

The Inter Agency Procurement Group (IAPG) is a forum for international non-government organisations to share logistical information and procedures; it meets every quarter. Visit www.iapg.org.uk for more information.

Suppliers

TALC (teaching aids at low Cost): PO Box 49, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL 1 5TX, UK. Email: [email protected] or visit www.talcuk.org

Aravind: Mail your order or enquiry to The Manager, Stores, Aravind Eye Hospital, 1, Anna Nagar, Madurai 625 020. Email [email protected] or visit www.aravind.org/publications/ catalogue.asp

News and notices in Comm Eye Health Vol. 23 No. 73 2010 –