Global major Zimmer Mobile Learning Centre, a state-of-the art mobile van, has started offering  technologically advanced training to young ortho-surgeons and paramedical staff. A comprehensive training  on the basics of  orthopaedic surgeries related to arthroplasty as well as trauma procedures  are the core features of the training.

The van has so far covered 80 cities travelling a distance of 17,500 kms in a span of five months. In Bangalore, it was stationed at the The Lalit Ashok, which was the venue of the 5th National Congress of Indian Society of Hip and Knee Surgeons (ISHKS 2011). There was a huge response from  orthopaedics surgeons to participate in the hands-on workshops in  the mobile van. From Bangalore, the van moved to Mysore, Hassan and Davangere before it entered Hyderabad

In Bangalore, the van made stopovers at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, St.John's Medical College Hospital, MS Ramaiah Medical College, Vydehi Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre.

The van is part of the Zimmer’s initiative to offer quality educational opportunities to orthopaedic surgeons at different levels of learning. It is also a global orthopaedic instrumentation leader with a range of products to restore mobility of knee, hip, shoulder and to provide relief for back pain. The van  initiative is not just restricted to select hospitals in certain cities but would also extend to Resident Welfare Associations, clubs, parks and seminar venues where experts discuss various facets of arthritis and the treatments associated therewith, stated Sanjay Banerjee, managing director, Zimmer India Pvt Ltd.

“The training helps in  capacity building of surgeons and paramedical personnel, enabling them to serve orthopaedic patients better. For this target group, which otherwise may be constrained by time away from workplace for attending such programmes, it provides a cost-effective access to high quality learning opportunities and updated training curriculum, he added.

The van has a mock operation theatre set up, a full array of display products including gender knee for women, real-time instruments and sawbones, audio-visual aids, pull-down workstations, backlit display frames and seating. Besides educating orthopaedic surgeons and paramedical personnel, the van also conducts community seminars to increase awareness among the general public. It also has on display and demo Zimmer’s state of the art solutions for knee replacement (high flexibility knee) and the Gender Knee which is the world’s first and only knee replacement shaped to fit a woman’s anatomy, Banerjee said.

The van has trained  over 2,500 ortho-surgeons and paramedical staff. It has  covered 18 states, including UP, West Bengal, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and  Kerala. Further, the van was stationed at major orthopaedic conferences organized at Kolkata, Goa, Kanha and Jaipur, stated Sanjay Lohani, marketing director, Zimmer.