World-class South African Medical Technology

World’s First Successful Heart Transplant

When Professor Chris Barnard performed the world’s first successful heart transplant at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town on December 3rd, 1967, the world was astounded that such a high tech, record-breaking event would first be performed by an unknown surgeon at an unknown hospital at the tip of South Africa!

Chris Barnard and his team were to perform a large number of heart transplants in the months ahead, refining the techniques, and attaining an ever-higher success rate, which other heart surgeons around the world would emulate, and eventually surpass, but there is no doubt, that for a time, Cape Town was the heart-transplant centre of the world!

This event was undoubtedly a seminal event, but it is by no means the limit of South Africa’s ingenuity in terms of medical science and technology.

Severe Burn Treatment

Because of the widespread use of paraffin in South Africa’s townships for eating and cooking, South African hospitals have become experts at the treatment of paraffin related burn wounds.

Chris-Hani Baragwanath Hospital’s burns unit is considered one of the most advanced in the world, and many techniques that are now standard procedure around the world, were pioneered there.

A team of South African doctors at a hospital in the Western Cape, led by Dr. Wayne Kleintjies have also developed an inexpensive and effective technique of rapidly growing skin to be used in skin grafts.

Using a small sample of the patient’s skin, which is then placed in an incubator, where it grows rapidly.

The results using the new technique are little short of miraculous, with some patients who were on the verge of death, being able to leave the hospital within weeks of the treatment!

In contrast with the more commonly used Epicel technique, which can cost millions of Rands for a single patient, the treatment developed by Dr. Kleinhans costs less than R1,000 and can be done in a normal hospital room.

The province’s health department head, Beth Engelbrecht, said the technique was being patented to prevent it from becoming commercialised.

The technology will be the subject of a research study by Kleintjes at Stellenbosch University.

South African Researchers Discover Heart-attack Gene

In March 2017, South African researchers at the Health Sciences Faculty at the University of Cape Town, discovered a new gene, that is believed to be a major cause of sudden death amongst athletes and young people.

The project, which was part of a global collaboration, identified the new gene called CDH2.

The gene is believed to cause Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricle Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which is a genetic disorder that can lead to cardiac arrest.

Professor Bongani Mayosi, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT) described the discovery as probably the biggest breakthrough in South African cardiac medicine, since Dr. Chris Barnard’s historic world-first heart transplant.

The discovery, detail of which were published in the prestigious journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, is the result of an international collaboration which began 15 years ago.

World’s First Full-body Scanner

The world’s first full-body scanner, was not actually developed for medical use.

It was actually designed and built by a South African company called Lodox Systems at the request of diamond mining companies, in an attempt to minimise and hopefully eradicate the large-scale theft of gem diamonds in the countries numerous diamond mines.

The full-body scanner had already been in use in the diamond industry for a considerable length of time, before it became famous when it was featured in an episode of the TV series, Grey’s Anatomy, when one was installed in the ER department of Grace Mercy West Hospital.

The CAT Scan

Arguably, the most famous medical invention to come out of South Africa, was the CAT (Computerised Axial Tomography) Scan.

The device, which revolutionised medicine worldwide, was created by South African physicist Allan MacLeod Cormack and British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield n 1972, was revolutionary, in that it was able to create a 360° cross section of the body.

Cormack and Hounsfield would be awarded the Nobel Ptize for Physiology or Medicine in 1979.

World’s First Digital Laser

In 2013, South African Scientists at the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) developed the world’s first digital laser.

The research was conducted by a team in the mathematical optics group at the CSIR National Laser Centre led by work was done in the mathematical optics group at the CSIR National Laser Centre. The team was led by Prof Andrew Forbes, chief scientist and research group leader, supported by post-doctoral fellow, Dr Igor Litvin, and doctoral students, Sandile Ngcobo and Liesl Burger.

CSIR Researcher, Sandile Ngcobo, performed the breakthrough experimental work as part of his PhD studies.

Amoils Retinal Cryo Pencil

Dr. Selig Percy Amoils is a South African ophthalmologist and bio-medical engineer, who trained the University of the Witwatersrand, earning his MB and BCh in 1956.

He then moved to Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, at that time the largest hospital in the world, with 6,000 beds, to do his practical studies.

It was whilst working at Baragwanath, that Amoils developed his Cryo Pencil — the world’s first surgical tool to use extreme cold to destroy unwanted tissue. It was there that Amoils perfected the technique for cataract surgery.

His invention has also been used or cryo-surgery in gynaecology and ophthalmology.

Other innovations pioneered by Amoils were his “rotary epithelial scrubber” which removes corneal epithelial cells in preparation for surgery

Another developments were Amoils’ diamond vitrectomy cutter invented in 1970, various instruments enabling micro-control of blade depth in radial keratotomyas well as the oval comparator, or astigmometer, to control astigmatism after cataract surgery.

Amoils also invented the diamond vitrectomy cutter in 1970

Amoils achieved wide recognition for his invention of the Cryo Probe, and in 1975 received a Queen’s Award for Technological Innovation

World First 3D Inner-ear Implant for South Afrii\can Professor

On March 3rd, 2019, Professor Mashudu Tshifularo, Head of the Department of Ear, Nose, Throat, Neck and Head Surgery at the Otorhinolaryngology Department at the University of Pretoria, became the first surgeon to transplant 3D-printed bones for reconstructive middle-ear implants at both the University of Pretoria, and at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

The transplant consisted of the ossicles : the hammer (Malleus), the anvil (incus) and the stirrup (stapes) that make up the critical middle ear — using #D-print technology.

Professor Tshifularo developed the technology as part of his PhD studies.

His first patient was an adult with accidental trauma damage, whilst the other patient was a 62 year-old, with a middle ear problems since birth.

Each of the endoscopic procedures lasted approximately 2 hours.

Biggest SA medical breakthrough “since first heart transplant”

A new gene has been discovered, that is seen as a major cause of sudden death among young people and athletes.

South African medical researchers, in March 2017, announced that through a global collaboration, they have identified the new gene called CDH2 which causes Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricle Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a genetic disorder that leads to cardiac arrest, and is believed to be the cause of as many as 5 deaths of young South Africans per day

“This is probably the biggest breakthrough in South African cardiology since Dr Chris Barnard’s first heart transplant,” says Professor Bongani Mayosi, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

“This discovery is a first in the world — on our soil — and will permit the diagnosis and possible targeted treatment of heart muscle disease in the future,” he adds. “When pioneering medical researchers make discoveries such as this, it enables us to innovate to find easy ways to detect the gene or diagnose ARVC and find ways to prevent sudden death in young South Africans,” says Professor Glenda Gray, President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).

“This collaborative research is what we relentlessly seek to fund, because it directly translates into finding ways to save lives in South Africa,” says Gray.

This discovery, published today in the prestigious journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, was made from a South African family affected by ARVC and is as a result of an international collaboration which began 15 years ago.

Bio-medical Stem Cell Technology from CSIR

In March, 2012 the Council for Scientific and Industrial (CSIR) Gene Expression and Biophysics group, led by Bio-medical Stem Cell Technology from the CSIR. Musa Mhlanga, is the first in Africa to designed induced pluripotent stem cells in Africa, which opened the door for researchers to investigate various diseases and cures that are prevalent in Africa and other developing countries.

The iPS cell technology induces adult cells to revert back to Stem cells, which can then be programmed to become any other type of cell, including skin, heart muscle, brain and blood cells.

Stem cells could be used to restore sight or repair cells affected by heart disease, amongst other things. The possibilities are endless and are still being explored.

But the CSIR’s breakthrough is particularly significant because it provides an alternative to the often-controversial issue of embryonic stem-cell derivation.

The other significant advantage is that the iPS cells generated will have the exact genetic makeup of the individual who provides the sample, opening up the possibility of restoring lost vision by replacing defective tissue in the eye, or transplanting new heart muscle cells into people with chronic heart disease, without the danger of rejection.