The nation's first endoscopy technology examination center was set up in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College recently.

Endoscopy is very effective in diagnosing diseases as it involves minimally-invasive surgeries even though the doctor has to follow complex procedures.

Doctors and experts in China are capable of performing surgeries using endoscopy, but the training system is very immature, limiting the development of the technology in China, said Zhong Nanshan, the president of Chinese Medical Association and member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

"Establishing an examination center and a testing committee is very necessary," Zhong said, explaining the need for an efficient training system.

The hospital experts, however, learned endoscopy expertise from the United States in 1982.

The hospital has been playing a leading role in the development of this specialized field and so the Ministry of Health has chosen the hospital to build up the center, Zhong said.

The hospital will upgrade its existing facilities, and introduce more advanced facilities, such as digital simulated minimally-invasive surgery training systems.

The training courses will include lectures, clinical demonstrations, and real practices.

Endoscopy is a minimally-invasive diagnostic medical procedure used to assess the interior surfaces of an organ by inserting a tube into the body.

The instrument may have a rigid or flexible tube and not only provide an image for visual inspection and photography, but also help taking biopsies and retrieve foreign objects.

The hospital has trained more than 3,600 experts in endoscopy in the past two decades.

The newly-built center is expected to train more talented experts in the future and boost the development of minimally-invasive surgery in China, Zhong added.

Editor: Yan