At the face of a refugee aid appeal
Greek born Dr Andreas Artopoulos found the recent events surrounding the Refugee Crisis hit very close to home. Wanting to help provide relief to those arriving on the Greek Islands, he organised a fundraiser event mid-December last year. Utilizing his areas of expertise and the cutting edge technology in the Maxillofacial Prosthetics department, Dr Artopoulos developed the idea of offering those who donated a chance to get a 3D model of their face created.
Using the Dental Institute’s state of the art Vectra H1 3D camera and 3D printer, the Maxillofacial team created a miniature 3D printed resin model of the faces of those who gave donations to the worthy cause. The result was very popular. Dr Artopoulos raised over £1200 for the Doctors Without Borders charity.
“The current refugee crisis in Europe has been described as the biggest humanitarian emergency of our times”, explains Dr Artopoulos. “This crisis has been ongoing and it seems unlikely that it will be resolved soon. This concerns us all, and we cannot turn a blind eye. As European citizens, as healthcare professionals, and as humans we ought to help those in need.”
“Due to the financial crisis that has plagued Greece help is in short supply where it is needed most. The Doctors Without Borders have a proven track record of helping those in need, regardless of country of origin, by offering direct medical care, but also participating in sea rescue missions. I hope this small amount of funding we managed to collect from students and staff at KCL Dental Institute, as well as friends and family, will help support the Doctors Without Borders in their efforts.”
“I wish to thank everyone who donated, my supervisor Dr Trevor Coward for fully supporting this initiative, Surface Imaging Solutions and Canfield for sponsoring the event, our wonderful volunteers Ms Catherine Liu, Dr Paula Rojas Torres and Ms Olivia Burchell for their assistance and Mrs Laura Shepherd for her significant contribution in setting up and advertising the event.”
The Greek Section of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders) is celebrating over 25 years of action. 2015 was widely marked by the great efforts of the MSF staff who are providing care for refugees that arrive in Greece.
They are working in the Dodecanese, Lesvos and Eidomeni and to date, they have provided medical care to 26,000 refugees, having also rescued more than 18,000 people in search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Visit the Doctors Without Borders website here: http://www.msf.gr/en
The fundraiser event was sponsored by Surface Imaging Solutions and Canfield Imaging Systems Inc.
http://surfaceimaging.co.uk/
http://www.canfieldsci.com/imaging-systems/