MMD Mission Outreach Program
MMD supports the efforts of humanitarian groups that provide eyecare to remote locations around the globe by lending our PalmScan portable ophthalmic ultrasound biometers to US based outreach groups – free of charge – for up to 60 days at a time. With this program we hope to play a small part in improving the lives of those who do not have access to the latest in medical technology by coordinating our efforts with mission outreach groups.
We have put some of the pictures and letters we received from these trips here for your viewing. If you are planning such a trip and are interested in using a PalmScan to help improve patient results, please contact us at info@micromedinc.com with details of your trip. We will do our best to support your cause.
Peru
2024 Missions
Organization: ChOSEN
We returned a few weeks ago from a surgical project in Peru where we used the AK 2000 Pro.
Overall, we had a very successful surgical project. This was the first CHOSEN project in Peru. We were able to do 55 cases (43 cataract, 12 pterygium/miscellaneous) and hope to return in the Spring 2025 for an even larger project.
Guatemala
2024 Missions
Organization: Spectrum Eye Physicians, Inc.
I had the opportunity to use the PalmScan A2000 Pro for A scan biometry and the keratometer in order to make IOL calculations during a recent ophthalmology mission trip to Guatemala.
The accuracy of keratometric readings was very good and it was easy to get multiple readings with low standard deviations, even in eyes with corneal problems like pterygiums. The A scan readings were repeatable and easy to measure in eyes with dense nuclear sclerosis. In general, I highly recommend the devices for their ease of measurement, repeatability and accuracy.
Peru
2013 Missions
Organization: The Achuar Eye Project – Maranon Region, Peru
So, thank you, Micro Medical Devices, for loaning us a palm scanner for this remarkable service project. The ophthalmologist and nurses from Divino Nino Clinic were greatly impressed with the hand-held scanner, an instrument they had not seen previously. They found it to be ideally suited to eye surgery expeditions such as theirs into the jungle, where personnel and all equipment must be flown in on small planes that have strict weight limits.
Dominican Republic
2012 Missions
Organization: Sanford Clinic
I again want to thank Micro Medical Devices for the use of the PalmScan for my mission trip. They have loaned me this for the past 4 years. Three of those years I had a new assistant that would be doing pre-operative work-ups. I was able to ‘train’ them to use the PalmScan in minutes – even my high school daughter. It is so easy to use and compact that it removes one big stress from going overseas to do cataract surgery.
Sierra Leone
2011 Missions
Organization: Southern Eye Institute
Your PalmScan is a miracle worker in this missionary application. The ease of use and the wonderfully accurate measurements contribute significantly to the joy and celebration of our surgical patients.
Haiti
2011 Missions
Organization: Baptist Eye Surgeons
Like a child at Christmas, I quickly turned it on and within a couple of minutes I had performed a test scan on one of my technicians and had her hypothetical intraocular lens implant calculated. All of this was without reading the directions. My point is this: this device is both compact and very easy to use.
Guatemala
2011 Missions
Organization: Dr. Richard Evans and Dr. Rick Sponsel
This wonderful little device was so easy to use and beneficial for our service to the Guatemalan people. I have no doubt that we were able to improve their vision even more than we could have without an A-scanner.
Philippines
2009 Missions
Organization: Kaiser Permanente
Because this was a more remote location in the Philippines and weight restrictions were very strict, it was essential that we bring that were as portable and yet accurate as possible.
El Salvador
2007 Missions
Organization: North Idaho Cataract and Laser Center
This baby had an injury to his eye that resulted in a very white cataract. Being a baby, it was impossible to measure his eye for a lens in the clinic preoperatively. So we used the PalmScan in the Operating Room after anesthesia was administered. We were able to easily and rapidly receive the results we needed to proceed with the surgery. Having access to the PalmScan eliminated the need to move heavy equipment across the road to the main operating room, and it got the job done for us in very little time. We really appreciated the convenient size and the portability, it was used many, many times during our 6 days of surgery where we operated on close to 110 cataracts.