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INTRODUCTION: There is currently no system of registration for visually impaired children in Slovakia and the current prevalence of visual impairment (VI), low vision and blindness is unknown for this population. We propose a template for a process of registration of visually impaired children in Slovakia as well as a system for the Low Vision Health Core for this population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Based on a literature search, we report our data of the estimated prevalence of VI in children in Slovakia and the number of registered students with VI. We have created a registration form and suggested a template of registration for VI children as well as the Health Care System for this population. RESULTS: In industrialized countries, the prevalence of VI, including blindness is 10 -22/10,000 in children aged less than 16 years. Extrapolating these figures to the Slovak population, we estimate that there will be between 1500 to 3200 VI children under the age of 19 years. Only 752 students with VI of this age were recorded in Slovakia in 2009/2010. We suggest that three Low Vision Centres for VI children should be adequate to cater for the VI population, each of which should provide all levels of care and that ophthalmologists should register patients with VI by filling the proposed registration form. CONCLUSION: The number of VI children in Slovakia appears to be very low. The only way of accurately assessing the prevalence is to introduce a VI registration system into the country, to be carried out by the ophthalmologists. We suggest that the Low vision service provided by the health authority needs to be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary care (including visual rehabilitation by low vision aids). Only if the Health Insurance will adequately remunerate the Ophthalmologists for the individual procedures will they be motivated enough to provide this level of health care to VI patients.

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INTRODUCTION: Low visual aids (LVAs) are the simplest and the most economic method of reducing the consequences of visual impairment (VI). We evaluate prescribing of LVAs in order to improve the quality of life of visually impaired children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the notes of 113 patients (pts.) with VI (visual acuity (VA) 6/18 or worse or with visual field defects) who attended the Low Vision Clinic, F.D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, between Jan 2000 - Dec 2005. There were 61 boys and 52 girls with ages ranging from < 1 year to < 19 years (mean age 9.4 years, median 9 years). RESULTS: Of the 113 notes reviewed, only 109 of patients were cooperative in having their VA formally tested. Blindness (VA worse than 3/60) occurred in 31 pts. (28.4%) and Low vision (VA worse than 6/18 or equal to 3/60) in 67 (61.5%). Of the remaining 11 patients, 4 had gross field defects (and good VA), (indicating that the total number with Low vision was 71 (65%). The other 7 patients had either developmental delay or were too young to perform a formal visual field test. Blindness was caused by perinatal factors in 52% of cases, prenatal factors in 45% and postnatal factors in 3%. Low vision was caused in 74.6% of cases by prenatal factors. The causes of blindness according to the affected anatomical site were: optic nerve disease in 12 (39%), cerebral visual impairment (CVI) in 8 (26%), and retinal disease in 6 (20%). Low vision was caused by retinal disease in 23 (34.3%), lens pathology in 11 (16.5%) and CVI in 10(14.9%). 171 LVAs were prescribed to 74 patients (65%): 76 (44.4%) were magnifiers, 21 (12.3%) were hyperoculars or high adds, 65 (38%) were telescopes and 9 (5.5%) telescope extensions. An average of 1.5 devices was prescribed for each patient. Every patient who was prescribed an LVA had subjective and objective improvement of their visual function and functional vision. CONCLUSION: Blindness occurred in almost one third of our patients which agrees with the worldwide accepted estimate. The LVA are improving the quality of life of visually impaired children. The prescribing of LVA depends on the individual: it is not possible to anticipate the optical power of the LVA that a patient will need simply from looking at their diagnosis and measuring their VA because there are so many different requirements depending on their age and visual demands.

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Implementation of Bologna Declaration should result in development and facilitating of the education system. Following tasks need to be done: (1) Establish committees of expert, at the level of institutes, schools and universities, which would compare and harmonize syllabus and credits of individual courses with the aim to maximally support students' and teachers' mobility. (2) It is necessary to re-evaluate the transformation of medical education in Slovakia in the near future, so as key identical courses within Slovak schools of medicine have similar syllabus, number of hours and number of given credits. Then medical study at the School of Medicine Comenius University Bratislava will be comparable to study at Slovak, Czech and other European schools of medicine. (3) Harmonize academic titles within European Union. (4) Finish all syllabi of new study programs according the programs of European Union. (5) Evaluate the prerequisites and consider the variability of some study programs. (6) Maintain flexibility of theory and practice in relation 1:2 in theoretical and practical study. (7) Determine possible forms of thesis, their content and forms, technical equipment considering experience in student's research activity. (8) Develop conditions for an adequate teachers input. (9) Objectively validate and evaluate students' gained knowledge regarding their use in practice. (10) Solve transparent conditions of support and economic guarantee of higher education for universities, teachers and students by Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic (Ref. 18). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.

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Innovation of both the content and forms of informatics teaching directed on exploitation of technical facilities and methods of information and communication technologies (ICT) in non-informatics universities study programmes and in life-long education is still actual today. Expanding knowledge base of the life and health sciences requires to form new skills to educate the end-users and facilitate an immediate information access. Theoretical and practical teaching in pregradual medical and health studies includes the basic contacts of students with the modern technique and special medical devices supported or completed by computers. The teaching of information science and corresponding subjects represents small but important part of medical and health studies curricula at all medical faculties in Slovakia (Fig. 2, Ref. 8).

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Asserting Bologna Declaration into university education is a long-term and challenging process. New features have to be asserted sensitively in order to develop school system and to strengthen the baseline for Declaration. Slovakia has started the restructuring of university system and study programs undergoing the process of accreditation, however marked support (or reform) for covering the costs of university education is missing (expressed as % of gross domestic product, Slovakia is still not comparable to other EU countries). At present, not satisfactory economic conditions prevent from reaching the content, personal and equipment preconditions at universities (Ref. 7).

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According to Standards of European Union the pregradual education should tend toward preparation of multidisciplinary working teams that can manage the health service using principles of evidence-based medicine, nowadays. The primary aims of teaching process is to direct the students to acquire, identify, analyze, process and select the reproducible results of physical measurements, to that the medical interpretation will be assigned. Our scientific research was directed at the existing conditions for professional use of different types of medical technique in the surgical and internal disciplines in health service institutions in all the regions of Slovakia. It also looked at the possibilities of eliminating the various unwanted effects of certain physical factors (Fig. 3, Ref. 9).

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The tradition of education of physicians at the Medical Faculty of Comenius University (MFCU) has been developing for more than 85 years. Currently, the education has been widened by non-medical fields of study (nursing, obstetrical assistance, rehabilitation, public health care and laboratory and examination methods). After joining EU, the accreditation study programmes have been subject to transformation in compliance with current world trends in education. In accord with the transformation of content and forms of medical physics training, the authors demonstrate the main objectives and goals of this process. The goal is to prepare the graduates on high theoretical and practical levels, to teach them to work in team, and to prepare them for whole-life education. Practical skills in pre-clinical and clinical disciplines are being strengthened. One of the important outputs of pre-graduate education is the readiness of graduates for educative activities in favour of the National Programme of Health Support. (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 7.)

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Didactic means are an integral part of teaching also in the process of healthcare and doctoral education. They are applied not only in teaching of theoretical, but also in that of clinical subjects at medical faculties. The forms and levels of the use of didactic aids are subject to a dynamic process of transformation. They take place in form of conceptions, projects, realizations, results and effects. A part of them represent a domain of professionals, others are affected by basically non-professional teachers. The results and effects are influenced by students. The authors of this study present the didactic means used at the Faculty Medicine of Comenius University (FMCU) in Bratislava. (Tab. 1, Ref. 11.).

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Nowadays, the graduates of medical faculties should be able to use up to date complicated technical devices as well as various diagnostic and therapeutic methods based on physical laws and processes. Therefore good knowledge in physics (including some fields of modern physics) is expected to be mastered by students during their studies of physics at the faculty. The shortness of time that is available for the teaching of physics has forced us to the laboratory exercises to the maximum extent. In this contribution, some special measurements will be described. The authors also discuss the possibilities of applying new practical and theoretical approaches, and stress the significance of the teaching of applied physics at medical faculties for the quality of medical care in the future. (Ref. 18.)

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Teaching subject physics at the university level represents a specific didactic transformation of the scientific field--physics. The determination of the content, extent, used methods, mutual relation to other subjects of curriculum as well as to the entrance knowledge of students are the most important parts of pedagogical activities in the educational process. Based on own experiences, successes and mistakes in teaching so-called medical physics the authors discuss didactic procedures which should support the interest and creativity of students. Some changes in the structure of physics education are recommended. The usefulness of the international collaboration in the framework of projects such as TEMPUS, ERASMUS is also remembered.

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Authors submit their view on the possibility of performing a serious evaluation of professionalism of teachers of theoretical and clinical subjects, particularly at school of medicine. The authors compare their ideas with those of A.C. Orstein and D.U. Levine (1989). In conclusion they point out the extraordinary position of university teachers so-called clinicians in the system of pregradual and post-gradual education, and their evaluation. (Fig. 1, Ref. 15.)

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Collagen, as biocompatible and bioactive non-specific polymer, occupies prominent position in the field of tissue engineering. The advanced biomaterials prefer collagen as a matrix for biodegradable implants as are biosynthetic skin substitutes, tendon and ligament substitutes, but also cartilage. Many studies notice the application of chemically modified collagen membranes for hernia and anastomoses reparations, vascular prosthetic materials, or for collagen tubes used in regeneration of peripheral nerves. Besides of defining main problems of tissue engineering, the paper analyses the developmental tendency of these biomaterials in the world, and compares it with the situation in Slovak Republic.

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