Prof. Dr. Mohamed Salah Ibrahim Gabal
Manager of Unit of medical laboratory tests and special examinations for the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases
The unit of medical laboratory tests is considered as one of the important activities in the Department of Community, environmental and occupational medicine, Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University. The unit aims to:
1- Establishment of a medical center that is specialized in occupational medicine for treatment of Egyptian workers and their protection from occupational diseases.
2- Carry out accurate medical tests to detect and diagnose occupational diseases.
3- Build a generation of specialists in this field, and attract fresh graduates and encourage researchers to conduct researches in this field.
4- Carry out statistical analyzes required for all types of research.
5- Assist in the reduction of environmental pollution by measuring the proportion of dust and toxic gases in different places.
The unit includes the following sections:
· The Clinic The clinic is responsible for the following activities:
-Medical examination for workers exposed to occupational hazard by contracting with different authorities. – Assessment of lung function for referred cases from hospitals or different places. – There is also an ECG device used when needed. – Determine the percentage of disability for those who are at risk of occupational diseases.
· Medical Laboratory
Where measurement of the proportions of different metals or their degradation products is done by taking vital samples ( blood , urine , milk , saliva ) or tissues , and examples of these metals are:
Measuring of aminolevulinic acid – Lead – Copper – Cadmium – Manganese – Zinc
And other various minerals where there is Atomic Absorption device in the lab that can be used by specialized professors. Also, all laboratory equipments are available to save the different samples . They are working on improving the device to analyze of the following items in the near future: – The Mercury
– Lithium – Arsenic – Iron
The lab receives cases from multiple destinations , whether individuals or institutions , and the unit provides special support for researchers.
· Environmental Monitoring Laboratory: currently establishing
Where the following will be available:
1 – A device for measuring the proportion of dust in the air
2 – Measuring the percentage of harmful gases in the air such as: nitrogen oxides, sulfur and carbon monoxide
3 – A device for measuring air speed and relative humidity in the air.
4 – A device for taking air samples
5 – A device for measuring noise
And these devices can be transferred to different working places for the purpose of environmental measurements and provide advices and recommendations to reduce the pollution in various workplaces.