Latest news with #SQUH
Muscat Daily
23-07-2025
- Health
- Muscat Daily
SQUH pioneers three cutting-edge spine surgery procedures
Muscat- The spine surgery team at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) at the University Medical City (UMC) has successfully implemented three advanced surgical techniques to treat spinal diseases and deformities for the first time in the region. These techniques included the use of a surgical robot, 3D printing, and virtual reality technology during a single operation. This represents a qualitative leap in specialised care services and reflects the University Medical City's commitment to enhancing the quality of healthcare and localizing the latest global medical technologies. These techniques have been applied in a number of complex surgeries, including scoliosis correction, treatment of nerve canal stenosis, and removal of spinal tumors. The University Medical City is the first healthcare facility in the region to combine these three technologies in a single procedure, making it a regional leader in specialised spine surgery. Dr. Hamid Al Farai, Consultant Orthopedic and Spine Surgeon, said, 'This achievement represents a qualitative shift in the field of spine surgery in the Sultanate of Oman. The medical team was able to integrate three advanced medical technologies into a single procedure. This has significantly contributed to increasing the accuracy of surgical procedures and reducing the risk and complications, which has a positive impact on treatment outcomes and the speed of patient recovery.' The three technologies included the use of a surgical robot in spinal surgeries, which is used to guide surgical instruments with extreme precision during operations. This helps reduce errors and achieve safer results, in addition to reducing the duration of the operation and accelerating the patient's recovery. 3D printing technology was also used, enabling the design of accurate anatomical models of the spine and surgical planning. This contributes to improving surgical accuracy and reducing risks, especially in cases of severe and complex deformities such as scoliosis. Virtual reality technology was used to provide a live, accurate cross-sectional image of the surgical area during the procedure, helping to obtain a clearer view and detailed anatomical geometry of the case, which contributed to more precise surgery and reduced complications. This strategic direction of the University Medical City falls within the framework of localizing the latest specialised medical technologies, in line with the health sector objectives of Oman Vision 2040, which focuses on building an innovative health system based on quality and reliance on national competencies. Dr. Suhaim bint Salem Al Sinani, CEO of the University Medical City, emphasized that the implementation of these advanced technologies is an important step toward enhancing patient confidence in government health services and raising the level of specialized care. This is achieved through implementing the government's policy to develop the health sector, localising modern medical technologies, and utilizing them to provide health services in accordance with international standards.
Muscat Daily
06-07-2025
- Health
- Muscat Daily
SQUH performs first-ever ‘awake craniotomy' in Oman
Muscat – In a pioneering effort in the medical field, a team at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), part of University Medical City, has successfully performed Oman's first-ever 'awake craniotomy' – a highly specialised brain surgery conducted while the patient remains conscious. The complex procedure was led by Dr Ghusn al Sideiri, Senior Consultant in Neurosurgery, supported by a distinguished team of Omani medical professionals from multiple disciplines. The operation, which lasted several hours, involved the precise removal of a tumour from a critically sensitive part of the patient's brain. The patient remained fully awake throughout the surgery and was able to communicate with the medical team, undergoing a series of neurological assessments in real time. This approach enabled the team to accurately remove the tumour avoiding any neurological complications. The awake craniotomy technique is typically employed in cases where tumours are situated close to parts of the brain responsible for speech, movement or cognition. Keeping the patient awake allows surgeons to continuously monitor essential brain functions during the operation, significantly minimising the risk of damage and ensuring the best possible outcomes. SQUH stated that successful execution of this advanced surgical method underscores the growing capabilities of Omani medical teams and reflects the hospital's commitment to delivering innovative, patient-centred care. 'This achievement represents a major milestone in the development and preparedness of Oman's national healthcare system. It highlights the high level of expertise among Omani healthcare professionals and the ability of local institutions to keep pace with global advancements in medicine.' The success of the procedure also aligns with the ambitious vision of University Medical City to establish itself as a regional and international leader in healthcare – a vision grounded in strategic investment in cutting-edge technologies and the empowerment of national talent.
Times of Oman
06-07-2025
- Health
- Times of Oman
SQUH successfully performs delicate brain tumor surgery
Muscat: An integrated surgical team at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) Medical City has successfully performed a delicate operation to remove a tumor from a critical area of a patient's brain using the 'awake craniotomy' technique — the first procedure of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman. This procedure is considered one of the most advanced and complex in neurosurgery, requiring extreme precision and close coordination among the medical team, while keeping the patient fully awake throughout the surgery. The operation was led by Dr. Ghassan bin Salem Al Sudairi, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, with participation from a select group of Omani specialists from various fields. The surgery lasted several hours, during which the team successfully removed the tumor while the patient remained awake and engaged in direct interaction through various neurological tests. This approach enabled the complete removal of the tumor without causing any neurological side effects. The awake craniotomy technique is used for tumors located near areas of the brain responsible for speech, movement, or cognition. By keeping the patient fully awake during the procedure, surgeons can monitor neurological functions in real time to ensure optimal outcomes and avoid damage to vital areas of the brain, such as those controlling speech, motor skills, and sensory perception. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the advancement and preparedness of Oman's national healthcare system. It underscores the competence of national medical professionals and highlights the readiness of the country's healthcare institutions to keep pace with the latest global medical innovations. It also reflects the ambitious vision of the University Medical City to achieve medical leadership regionally and globally, through investments in advanced technologies and the empowerment of national talent.
Times of Oman
06-07-2025
- Health
- Times of Oman
SQUH successfully performs delicate brain tumour surgery
Muscat: An integrated surgical team at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) Medical City has successfully performed a delicate operation to remove a tumour from a critical area of a patient's brain using the 'awake craniotomy' technique — the first procedure of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman. This procedure is considered one of the most advanced and complex in neurosurgery, requiring extreme precision and close coordination among the medical team, while keeping the patient fully awake throughout the surgery. The operation was led by Dr. Ghassan bin Salem Al Sudairi, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, with participation from a select group of Omani specialists from various fields. The surgery lasted several hours, during which the team successfully removed the tumor while the patient remained awake and engaged in direct interaction through various neurological tests. This approach enabled the complete removal of the tumor without causing any neurological side effects. The awake craniotomy technique is used for tumors located near areas of the brain responsible for speech, movement, or cognition. By keeping the patient fully awake during the procedure, surgeons can monitor neurological functions in real time to ensure optimal outcomes and avoid damage to vital areas of the brain, such as those controlling speech, motor skills, and sensory perception. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the advancement and preparedness of Oman's national healthcare system. It underscores the competence of national medical professionals and highlights the readiness of the country's healthcare institutions to keep pace with the latest global medical innovations. It also reflects the ambitious vision of the University Medical City to achieve medical leadership regionally and globally, through investments in advanced technologies and the empowerment of national talent.
Observer
27-04-2025
- Health
- Observer
Award-winning research advances breast cancer image classification
MUSCAT: Among the standout projects at the 11th National Research Award organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI), the study titled 'Feed-forward networks using logistic regression and support vector machine for whole-slide breast cancer histopathology image classification' by Dr ArunaDevi Karuppasamy, Assistant Professor at the Department of Computing Sciences, Gulf College, received top honours in the Information and Communication Technologies field (PhD category). Dr ArunaDevi's research addresses the critical challenge of histopathology image classification, essential for breast cancer diagnosis. While traditional methods rely on hand-crafted features, her study explores feed-forward approaches, proposing Convolutional Logistic Regression (CLR) and Convolutional Support Vector Machine (CSVM-H) networks. Dr ArunaDevi Karuppasamy These methods leverage predefined or externally learned filters, overcoming limitations of back-propagation techniques such as vanishing gradients and heavy data requirements. Experiments showed that CLR and CSVM-H achieved superior accuracy and faster training times on small datasets from Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and BreaKHis, outperforming traditional models like VggNet-16 and ResNet-50. Both models demonstrated high Area Under Curve (AUC) scores (0.83 and 0.84 on the SQUH dataset), highlighting their efficiency for small, labelled datasets with limited computational resources.
