TEDx talk on the Arclight – a revolutionary sight-saving device
The team behind the Arclight – a revolutionary handheld solar-powered diagnostic tool with the potential to save the sight of millions – will give a TEDx presentation at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews this weekend (Sunday April 22).
TED is a non-profit organisation, devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form or short, powerful talks with TEDx being TED-style events organised locally.
Dr Martin Anderson, an ophthalmologist and Honorary Research Fellow with the Global Health Team at the University of St Andrews, will discuss what inspired the Arclight and how it was developed.
The Arclight Ophthalmoscope and Otoscope is pioneering technology which can diagnose early signs of treatable blindness and deafness. Evaluation and implantation of the low-cost device has been led by the University of St Andrews.
Dr Anderson (pictured right) will explain how the Arclight has already been distributed to countries around the world, including Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Fiji, Indonesia, India and the Solomon Islands, enabling healthcare workers to perform comprehensive eye and ear examinations for the first time.
The talk is part of the 6th TEDx event organised by students at the University of St Andrews, with this year’s theme being “think again”. Organised by a committee of 17 students led by Juan Julian Herranz and Kate Woodward, ten speakers have been invited to speak.
Kate said: “We have fascinating speakers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, all with the aim of encouraging a new approach to life and inviting the audience to see things from a different perspective, questioning how we view the world today.
“We are very excited about the quality of inspirational speaker we have for this year’s event and look forward to welcoming our audience on Sunday.”
Speakers include James Rae, a leading Research Fellow in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University with a talk on climate change; Adnan Sarwar, a former British soldier who served in Iraq, who now works as a journalist and TV presenter; Clarissa Trabanino, who is a part of Darktrace an Artificial Intelligence Cyber Security firm; and Jane Corbin, a senior correspondent for BBC’s Panorama programme.
Also speaking will be Jennifer Brookes, Director of UN Relations for Microsoft Philanthropies; Jeff Wilson, a wildlife film director and documentary photographer who has spent the last 17 years travelling to the most remote corners of the globe to capture untold stories from the wild for the BBC, Discovery Channel, Netflix and Disney; and Milda Zinkus, an experienced leadership development consultant, focusing on personal and organisation change.
In addition St Andrews students Fiona Cooper and Rachel Martinez Hall, who underwent an extensive process to be voted as the two winners of the TEDxStA student speaker competition, will speak on participating in sport as a woman, and hidden homelessness.
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to ideas worth spreading. It originated in California 25 years ago, with one annual conference which invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx was formed, allowing for local, self-organised events, licensed by TED to bring people together to share a TED-like experience. In turn, TEDxUniversityofStAndrews was created with the intention of providing a platform for the individuals locally.
Image captions
News page: Arclight Training – SIM eyes India
Top: Arclight Training Red Reflex 2 India
Bottom: Dr Martin Anderson
For more information and tickets visit the TEDx website or the Byre Theatre website.
Issued by the University of St Andrews Communications Office. Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108, 07714 140 559 or [email protected].
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