6 Saudi Women Get US Nuclear Medicine Certification

Six Saudi female scholarship students, along with four of their male colleagues, have received US board certification in nuclear medicine technology.
This is the largest number of Saudi students who have graduated with this rare specialization, local media reported on Friday. 
Sarah Yasir Farhood graduated in nuclear medicine technology in Boston, before obtaining US board certification in this specialization. “I chose this field because it is rare in the Kingdom. I intend to pass the US test and register for a specialization in nuclear medicine.” 
Sarah defines nuclear medicine as a branch of diagnostic medicine that contributes to treating various diseases. This technology uses small doses of rays from the nucleus of an atom and usually administers them through an injection, orally or through inhaling it. The radioactive material is concentrated in the afflicted organ, and releases invisible rays that are picked up by a special device called a Gama camera. 
Radioactive material can be injected into an afflicted organ and destroys sick cells. She said nuclear medicine has many uses such as heart imaging, bone imaging to examine fractures, inflammations and tumors, kidney, gall bladder and stomach examinations, and examinations for the possibility of lung blockage. 
She said that there is another part of nuclear medicine, which is the positron emission tomography, which is three-dimensional imaging. This imaging depends on injecting the patient with a radioactive solution that is linked to an active element such as sugar, to concentrate the solution in cancerous cells, allowing doctors to make an accurate diagnosis. 
She said after finishing three years of study, she underwent training at one of the largest hospitals in Boston, and learned how to care for patients and deal quickly with emergencies, in addition to attending nuclear medicine conferences inside and outside the state. 
“This was very good for us as students because it allowed us to build a social network of technicians from other countries,” she said.

Originally published on Arab News

Saudi Women Win Awards at the 2015 British Inventors Awards

Four Saudi female students from Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University were awarded the Diamond, Gold and Platinum medals in the British Invention Show and Awards for 2015, which was held in London from October 21 to 24.

Bedour Al-Maghrabi, Maha Al-Qahtani and Thekra Al-Otaibi came in first position, while Mariam Al-Otaibi and Bedour Al-Maghrabi received the diamond and platinum awards.

The first-ranked invention was a device for sense rehabilitation and stimulation in patients with sensory neuropathy issues. The basic premise of the devise is based on the innovation of a new multisensory stimulation program; a new treatment program using different senses to help people with impaired sensory systems improve the affected cell's function.

The same invention was ranked in second place at Korea's International Women's Invention Exposition (KIWIE) in 2014.

Al-Maghrabi and Al-Qahtani invented glasses for people with cerebral blindness which can help them to identify anything around them. The glasses draw a picture of the area around the patient and defines it through spoken words after analyzing it through a mobile app and sending it through an earpiece.

This invention took out second place and the silver medal at the Korean International Women's Invention Exposition (KIWIE) in 2015, and also received a gold medal from the Indonesian Invention and Innovation Promotion Association.

The Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, who visited the Saudi pavilion on the first day of the expo, expressed his admiration for the Saudi women's ability to innovate and raise the Saudi standing in such international specialized forums.

He thanked the efforts of the Saudi government in supporting and encouraging science, education and scholarship programs, giving them the top priority among its national development initiatives.

The ambassador urged the inventors to continue their careers serving their country and humanity, saying: "Nations are not built on dreams, but on work, effort and diligence."

The students thanked the Saudi government, the ambassador as well as Princess Nora University's staff for their continuous support. They also participated in the fifth and sixth scientific conferences for higher education students in the Kingdom, and are members of the Saudi Society of Physiotherapy. Additionally, they are founding members of the Scientific Research and Innovation Club, and the Physiotherapy Club at the Princess Nora University.

Originally Published on Arab News