RIYADH, 9 September 2004 — Riyadh will host a high-profile international conference on robotic surgery from Sept. 20 during which live footage of 20 operations will be telecast with the help of the Kingdom’s telemedicine network.
This is the first such event being organized by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH & RC) in Riyadh with the aim of reviewing advancements that are changing the way computer-assisted surgeries are being conducted.
“A panel of prominent Saudi and international surgeons will conduct the operations during the three-day conference entitled ‘Invasive, laparoscopic and robotic surgery during 21st century’,” said Dr. Abdulrahman Salem, head of the conference organizing committee. The event, he said, also seeks to “establish a forum of internationally-recognized faculty to critically analyze current practice, literature and review the expanding scope of minimally invasive surgery”.
Dr. Salem said the surgeries will be telecast live through sattelites in the Kingdom and abroad with the help of Saudi National Telemedicine Network (SNTN), an ambitious project launched by the KFSH & RC.
SNTN’s centers in different parts of the Kingdom are equipped to support teleradiology and telephathology transmission with facility for live conferencing.
Dr. Salem said experts and surgeons from 17 countries have been invited to present their papers and exchange information with the local medical gentry.
Some of the countries, which will send their surgeons and experts include the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Brazil and India besides many Arab countries.
Some surgeons will exclusively present their views on robotic technology and robotic surgery.
