Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2005

Med i ca l News New Centres • S.H. Ho Foundation Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Centre The F a c u l ty of M e d i c i ne of The Ch i n e se University has set up, w i t h a donation of HK$10 m i l l i on f r o m the S.H. Ho Foundation, the S.H. Ho Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Centre. The centre w i l l further the collaboration between researchers i n c a r d i o l o gy and n e u r o l o gy at C U HK and those f r om w o r l d famous research centres to advance diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of the diseases. The Division of Cardiology of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of th e University is one of the wo r l d ' s top cardiovascular research centres. Since 1999, it has been Asia' s most comprehensive and experienced biventricular pacing therapy centre for heart failure patients. The d i v i s i o n was the first i n the w o r l d to adop t advanced echocardiographic technology to select patients for biventricular pacemaker therapy, and the first i n Ho ng Kong to introduce the three- dimensional electroanatomical mapping system on patients w i th heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. The Division of Neurology of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics has been a leader in research in intracranial atherosclerosis 一 the most common cause of stroke in Asians. It was the first research group in the wo r ld to predict the risk of stroke w i t h the use o f transcranial Doppler, microembolic signal detection and micrbleeds. • New Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre Opens The Faculty of Medicine has established the first multi- disciplinary surgical skills training centre in the Asia Pacific. The CUHK Jockey Club Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre (CUHK JC MISS Centre) is equipped w i t h cutting- edge technologies designed for comprehensive modern surgical training and skills development, in particular, for the f u ll range of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). These revolutionary training methods in surgery w i l l greatly improve the quality of patient care. The opening ceremony of th e centre was held on 18th November 2005. The HK$50-million centre is funde d by a generous donation of HK$28.2 million from the Jockey Club and support from Kai Chon g Tong, the University, and the community-at-large. It w i ll house a surgical skills laboratory, a virtual reality laboratory, two state-of-the-art endo-surgery operating theatre suites, a simulated operatin g room, the only leading-edge robotic surgical system i n Hong Kong, a microsurgical and endoscopic surgical laboratory, and a seminar room all linked by teleconferencing facilities. American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography Sets up Asian Test Centre The Department of Diagnostic Radiology and O r g a n I ma g i ng of the U n i v e r s i ty has been nominated by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) to set up a satellite test centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital. The ARDMS, founded in 1975, is the largest academic organization adm i n i s t e r i ng examinations and awarding credentials i n diagnostic medical sonography fo r doctors, radiographers, nurses and other health care professionals. The registry has certified over 45,000 i n d i v i d u a ls f r o m w i t h i n a nd o u t s i de N o r t h Ame r i c a . Credentials awarded b y the ARDMS are w i de ly accepted in the medical community. Located at the Postgraduate Education Centre of the Prince of Wales Ho s p i t a l, the centre conducted its first examination on 8th August 2005 and similar examinations w i l l take place monthly. News in Brief 65