The aeromedical center of Tunis (CEMEDA) is a public institution dependant of the National Ministry Of Defense and approved by the Ministry Of Transport. It is a national center where we mainly proceed to the periodic medical examination of mental and physical fitness of the military and civilian aviation personnel in order to issue or renew their licenses.
This center is composed of several departments in different medical specialties. The practical application of the medical standards, depending on the different categories of aviation personnel ( pilot, navigator, air traffic controller…), is based on a basic medical examinations and a battery of complementary examinations which are performed either systematically or case by case in order to help the medical experts while making their fitness decisions.
The experience of the medical staff (trained in Tunisia and abroad) and the importance of the technical support make the medical examination duration, on average, between two and three hours. Furthermore, the CEMEDA is in charge of the health education of the aviation personnel and is actively involved in teaching aerospace medicine and human factors. It, also, participates in different researches in the fields of aerospace physiology, selection or hygiene of the aircrew (causes of unfitness, cardiology, ophthalmology, ENT, nephrology ...)
Physiology training program of the pilots began in 2000. The installation of an altitude chamber (Hypobaric chamber) of six seats allows a simulation of altitude variation and hypoxia in experimental and controllable conditions. Either for the study of the impact of the pressure variation on the human body and, thus, the adaptation to hypoxia, or the exposure to the rapid or explosive decompression, the tests are performed in the best conditions of safety and repeated periodically without the need of an airframe for the training.
Since 2006, the aeromadical center is equipped with a spatial disorientation simulator (transport and helicopter configuration). This device is equipped with an aircraft (or a helicopter) three-dimensional configuration and provides several sensory explorations of the human body orientation in space. This simulator is used for selection of the future pilots, for training of active pilots to spatial disorientation and also for airsickness desensitization.
In addition to pilots’ medical and physiological support, the aeromedical center ensures the selection and medical monitoring of other military specialties that require special physical or mental such as jumpers (free-fall), Special Forces, scuba divers, navy personnel ...
