Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is set to collaborate with the Cuban Neuroscience Center (CNEURO), Cuba to study the most rapid method of diagnosing epilepsy and stroke.
The study is still in the early stages of implementation, and aims to overcome the delay in providing treatment for epilepsy and stroke patients which have a serious level of disease that can lead to death.
USM Vice Chancellor, Professor Dato Omar Osman said this research is also expected to benefit the development of technology and facilities that are accessible in district hospitals and health clinics.
"We need to create a method of prevention and treatment [along with] high-tech facilities that can improve the quality of life, but at the same time enable all levels of society to enjoy it.
"It's no use spending millions of dollars on medical facilities that can only be applied to specific groups when those who are most in need are being marginalized due to the expensive cost of treatment," he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after signing an MoU with CNEURO here today. CNEURO was represented by Vice-President Dr. Pedro A. Valdes Sosa. Also present were the Dean of the School of Medical Sciences, Prof. Abdul Aziz Baba and the Department of Neuroscience, Assoc. Jafri Malin Abdullah.
"The field of Neuroscience has the potential to be developed more rapidly with the work we do together as strategic partners like CNEURO," said Abdullah
He said that so far some high-tech sophisticated equipment has been placed at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) for research and treatment, including machine Magnetoencephalography, Electroencephalography and 128 Channel 3 Tesla's functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
"We have churned out twenty six specialist brain surgeons, six neuro scientists and a neurologist from the Neurosciences discipline that was introduced in 2000," he said.
It is thought that more research will be conducted through the MoU
