Sheikha Moza opens hi-tech imaging centre in Aswan

Qatar Foundation chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser yesterday formally opened the Hamad bin Khalifa Imaging Centre based at the Aswan Heart Centre, founded in Egypt by pioneer of cardiovascular surgery Sir Magdi Yacoub.

“There is no doubt that any medical or scientific achievement is born from research, and research is in turn unachievable without an environment that encourages and embraces it. We consider the Aswan Heart Centre a model for such environments especially in the Arab world and consider it our duty to support it and invest in it,” Sheikha Moza said.

The state-of-the art Imaging Centre was contributed to the pro-bono hospital by Sheikha Moza to provide crucial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanning before surgery, both improving diagnosis and patient outcomes.
It also contributes to the research effort of the centre, dedicated to the benefit of Egypt and beyond.

The centre, founded by professor Sir Yacoub in 2009, offers high quality cardiovascular services and surgery to critical cases regardless of their ability to pay. It has provided life-saving care to more than 6,000 patients to date, most of them children and sustained efforts are being made to enhance and increase the capacity of the centre, which is in turn an important element of a strong and developing partnership between the Magdi Yacoub Research Network (MYRN) and Qatar Foundation, giving birth to Qatar Cardiovascular Research Centre, a member of QF.

The key aim of the collaboration is to reduce the growing global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVDs), particularly in the Middle East and Africa, through a linked programme of science and practice.