Recently, over 20 students from the "BRIGHT-X Ophthalmology Innovation Class", jointly established by Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) and the School of Medicine of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), traveled from the SYSU Shenzhen Campus to ZOC in Guangzhou. They stepped into the frontlines of ophthalmic clinical practice and engineering R&D, personally experiencing an innovative teaching practice centered on hands-on ophthalmic surgical training, featuring an interdisciplinary perspective, a strong practical orientation, and the integration of medicine and engineering. By leveraging high-quality resources across campuses, the course for the first time introduced internationally acclaimed Eyesi Surgical Simulator and a domestically developed ophthalmic surgical robot into undergraduate teaching, aiming to cultivate inter-disciplinary top-notch innovative medical talents for the new era through the integration of scientific research and education.
Group photo of teachers and students
In the cataract virtual surgery teaching session, the course introduced the Eyesi Virtual Surgical Simulator—already scientifically validated in standardized resident training—into undergraduate practical teaching. It replicates the visual and tactile feedback of real surgeries and, through its built-in real-time scoring and error-correction mechanism, helps undergraduate students gain early exposure to and intuitive understanding of the core procedures of cataract surgery. This allows them to establish precise surgical intuition and a standardized operational process cognition at an early stage, breaking down the barriers between theoretical learning and clinical practice in traditional education. During the session, students virtually practiced key steps of phacoemulsification cataract surgery, from making incisions and performing continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis to phacoemulsification.
Scene from the classroom
During the hands-on session with the ophthalmic surgical robot, students visited a frontline R&D base. Under the guidance of engineers, they operated an ophthalmic surgical robot jointly developed by ZOC and Oculotronics, which possesses complete independent intellectual property rights. Based on high-precision force sensing and micron-level motion control technology, this robotic system enables ultra-precise fundus surgeries such as subretinal injections. In class, students worked in groups to perform robot-assisted subretinal microinjections on mice, personally experiencing how the integration of medicine and engineering empowers ultra-fine fundus surgeries. They witnessed the technological leap from "millimeter-level" to "micron-level" precision, and grasped the scientific underpinnings of precision medicine.
Students participating in the course
The students had many reflections after this course.
"Learning theoretical knowledge and applying practical skills are two completely different dimensions. This course allowed me to personally experience ophthalmic surgical procedures, which helped internalize ophthalmic knowledge." — Zhang Hanyi
"Being able to immediately practice after learning the theoretical knowledge made some concepts very vivid and gave a great sense of achievement." — Xuan Kecheng
"The virtual cataract surgery experience felt like touching clinical work. Everyone seemed very excited." — Zhang Zheshuo
"Operating the cataract surgery simulator helped me visualize the theoretical knowledge I had learned about cataract surgery, while also giving me a clear sense of the procedure’s complexity." — Huang Jianjin
"Experiencing the VR cataract surgery simulator and the ophthalmic surgical robot left a particularly deep impression. I felt like I was exposed to a lot of cutting-edge ophthalmic equipment today." — Tan Chenyue
"Performing needle insertion into a mouse eyeball provided a very clear understanding of the effectiveness of mechanical assistance during surgery." — Gao Qihan
"Experiencing the operation of the surgical robot, I found it much more intelligent than I imagined after trying it, and the live demonstration on mice was especially insightful." — Lin Enqi
"The most impressive part was observing and experiencing the ophthalmic surgical robot. The instructors provided detailed explanations, and the hands-on experience was immersive. Surgical robots represent a cutting-edge field in clinical practice, which felt very novel." — Zhang Hongling
This practical training session represents a key step in advancing the "Medicine + X" training model of the "BRIGHT-X Ophthalmology Innovation Class". In traditional medical education, opportunities for undergraduates to access advanced surgical equipment and cutting-edge technologies at an early stage are limited. By integrating the research strengths of ZOC with the engineering capabilities of high-tech enterprises, the BRIGHT-X Ophthalmology Innovation Class breaks down disciplinary barriers and establishes a progressive practical teaching system of "theoretical learning - simulated practice", guiding students to shift from passive knowledge acquisition to active exploration of the intersections between technological principles and clinical needs. This cultivates their systematic thinking and innovative ability to solve complex clinical problems and plants the seeds of "medicine-engineering integration and innovation-driven development" in their minds.
In the future, the "BRIGHT-X Ophthalmology Innovation Class" will continue to optimize its cross-campus collaborative education model, allowing more students to engage with the forefront of medical development, and persistently explore ways to cultivate future leaders in ophthalmology.
