Doctors and paramedics in Dubai are to receive new training in portable ultrasound technology during an annual medical conference in the city.
Health experts say they are planning to introduce the equipment to ambulances across the emirate as part of efforts to improve patient care.
Carrying the equipment will allow medics responding to emergencies to make rapid assessments of anyone with internal injuries.
Diagnosis can then be relayed to hospital staff prior to the patient’s arrival, allowing doctors more time to gauge the appropriate treatment.
"One of the initiatives we are undertaking is the use of ultrasound in pre-hospital care,” said Dr Sagar Galwankar, executive director of the World Academic Council for Emergency Medicine.
“You can check to see if the person is bleeding internally and can get a faster diagnosis.”
The fifth World Academic Congress of Emergency Medicine (WACEM) will be held in Dubai from October 20 to 24.
The five-day event will bring together doctors and academics from around the world to share their experiences in trauma, emergency and acute medicine.
About 2,000 people are expected to attend the conference, which will include workshops organised by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
Officials plan to launch the forum under the banner ‘Technologies, Therapies and Transformations’.
"[At] the emergency preparedness workshop...we will talk about epidemics, accidents, toxins, mass events etc,” said Dr Galwankar.
"It brings the emergency community together ahead of the Expo 2020 so they can learn from global best practices.
"Doctors, medical students and nurses in the UAE will be helped through the event."
Expo 2020 Dubai will open on October 20 next year and is set to draw around 25 million visitors over just six months.
Nations from around the world will exhibit the latest in innovation and technology on a site covering more than 1,000 acres.
Humaid Al Qutami, director general of the DHA, said the October conference was timely given the city’s preparation for Expo.
“The conference will enhancing the knowledge of the participants in diagnosis and treatment in emergency medicine and trauma,” said Dr Sara Kadhim, secretary general of WACEM and head of the emergency department at Rashid Hospital in Dubai.
“There will be a focus on innovation at hospitals and in pre-hospital care.”
