From September 11 to September 22, a 10-member medical team from the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University conducted its seventh medical aid mission in Fiji, screening 163 local patients and performing 106 cataract surgeries and laser treatments.
The team introduced self-developed digital eye care technologies. It brought a domestically produced digital slit-lamp camera to Fiji and demonstrated an AI model for recognizing anterior segment diseases.
It also showcased a portable smart ophthalmic device called "Chongming," designed for primary care settings. Equipped with AI, the handheld device achieves over 95 percent accuracy in assisting cataract diagnosis, approaching the level of an attending ophthalmologist, and can help more primary healthcare facilities conduct eye health screenings.
Atonio Lalabalavu, Minister for Health and Medical Services of Fiji, said that promoting AI-based eye disease screening in primary care would significantly improve screening and referral efficiency and would be important for reducing early blindness caused by cataracts and diabetes.
To treat more patients within the limited time available, Chinese and Fijian medical staff gave up their lunch breaks and extended their working hours. On September 17, the team completed 49 eye surgeries in a single day. After the final operation that evening, Fijian medical staff and the last two surgical patients expressed their thanks with "Bula Fiji! Thank you China!"
The team also treated a special patient. With a history of limb amputation and long-term wheelchair use, the patient had been blind in one eye since an eye injury in 1999. In recent years, severe cataracts in the remaining eye had caused serious vision loss, increasing the family's care burden.
The team fast-tracked the case, and Dr. Huang Shengsong, a chief physician in the cataract department, performed urgent refractive cataract surgery. The operation went smoothly, and the patient's vision improved to 0.6 the next day.
While providing treatment, the team also conducted technical training for local medical staff on digital slit-lamp use and laser treatment for posterior capsule opacification. An agreement was signed between the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center and Fiji's Colonial War Memorial Hospital to donate a digital slit-lamp camera to support local eye disease prevention and treatment.
The mission was part of the "China (Guangdong) Bright Journey" program, which first came to Fiji in 2015. Since then, the Chinese medical team has performed more than 500 sight-restoring surgeries for local patients.
Reporter | Chen Jinxia
Photos | Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University
