José Antonio Presno Albarrán

Surgeon physician, professor, considered the greatest authority in digestive system surgery in Cuba. Founder of the Center for Cybernetics Applied to Medicine (CECAM)

Born in La Habana. Son of the marriage of the eminent Physician and General Surgeon, José Antonio Presno Bastiony (1876-1953) with María Albarrán Machín.

He pursued medical studies at the University of La Habana and from 1935 to 1937 worked as an external student, a position he obtained by competitive examination at the University Hospital "Calixto García". From 1937 to 1940 he was an internal student based on his academic record. He obtained thirty-one honors grades out of thirty-two subjects, as well as fourteen ordinary prizes.

He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in July 1940. Already graduated as a Doctor of Medicine, he also obtained, based on his academic record, in 1940 itself, the position of Internal Medicine Physician, a position he held until 1942, when he obtained by opposition the rank of Resident Physician, and maintained it for a period of two years.

Health Sector worker since 1940 - Internal Physician, Resident, Associate, Specialist and Head of Service; he performed 7,701 surgical interventions until 1970.

Teaching worker since 1944 (Attached, Instructor, Associate Professor and Full Professor) participated in active university teaching for 34 years.

Author of 8 books and monographs on surgical specialty from 1959 to 1970. Co-author and member of the Editorial Commission of the Surgery Textbook of the Department of Surgery of the School of Medicine, 1964.

Editor and co-author of the book War Surgery. Sole Doctrine of treatment of the Medical Services Section of MINFAR, 1969.

Author of 56 original papers, published in national and foreign scientific journals; 25 papers presented at international, national and regional scientific congresses and 21 papers presented at national scientific or cultural societies.

Eminent Surgeon of recognized prestige, he made theoretical and practical contributions to the specialty through numerous publications. He is considered the greatest authority in digestive system surgery in Cuba.

He was Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of La Habana.

Vice President of the first national commission of scientific degrees, follower of impeccable medical ethics.

He retired from active surgical practice in June 1972 due to illness, from which point another stage of his fruitful teaching and scientific trajectory began.

From 1971, he presided over the first Computing Commission that was dedicated to studying the needs for the development of Computer Science in Cuban Public Health and during 1972 he assumed the founding responsibility, at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of La Habana and of the Department of Computing Applied to Biomedicine, which was made official in 1973.

This institution, in 1976, became by official law of the State the Center for Cybernetics Applied to Medicine (CECAM), subordinate to the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences of La Habana, the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the bicentennial University of La Habana newly named.

His responsibility at the head of CECAM was maintained until his death on October 14, 1978.

Man of science, with vast culture and recognized international prestige, with advanced ideas for his time in everything related to the early introduction of computational technologies in Public Health and in medical teaching, he fostered a multidisciplinary environment in addressing his ideas and initiated the integration of these topics and other related ones in the health field with the purpose of creating a Computer Science culture in the students and graduates of Medical Sciences.

He is recognized as the precursor of Medical Informatics in Cuba and with his intelligent and comprehensive work laid the foundation for all subsequent development in this area of progress.

Professor Presno Albarrán conceived a project for the automation of operating rooms that had the support of the Director of the Vichniesky Institute of Surgery in Moscow, the Agreement did not materialize despite his constant effort, due to the little knowledge that existed then in the Medicine sector and in Public Health of advances in the field of hospital automation.

He directed the automation project of what was then proposed as the Hospital of Centro Habana, the seed of the Automated Information System of Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras.

He worked tirelessly directing the design of the specialty of Computing Applied to Medicine that would allow us to have physicians prepared to integrate and develop the gradual computerization of the sector through automated information systems, the application of mathematical models in the field of Health, the automation of technological processes, image processing and other areas where the world was already working with a cybernetic approach. The specialty, even after training residents, was not approved.

Professor Presno Albarrán was ahead of his time. Today, more than 30 years after his physical disappearance, there is a project for computerization of Cuban society and work is being done intensively on the training of human resources capable of undertaking this enormous and necessary effort.

Since 1977, more than 100 professionals have graduated from the Master's in Health Informatics who contribute to the computerization of the National Health System from their work positions.

There is the University of Computer Sciences, with a Faculty of Medical Informatics. At the Higher Polytechnic Institute José Antonio Echeverría, Bioengineers are trained and in the Higher Medical Education System a Bachelor of Health Technology with emphasis on Informatics, Statistics and scientific-technical Information. In all residencies and master's programs in Medical Sciences, Computing is incorporated as a basic subject. Medical Informatics is present in the training of all graduates of Higher Medical Education and work is being done on the definition and approval of a doctorate in Medical Informatics.

Impressive evolution of what was Dr. Presno Albarrán's dream, current reality that only visionaries like him could interpret then as something more than a utopia.

DISTINCTIONS
- Foreign Corresponding Member of the Vischniesky Institute of Surgery in Moscow. 1965.
- Foreign Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. 1966.
- Member of Honor of the National Society of Surgery Cuba. 1966.
- National Order "25 years dedicated to Teaching". 1970.
- Order of Merit "Octavio de la Concepción y de la Pedraja". 1971.
- Order of Merit "Manuel Fajardo". 1972.
- Order of Merit "Frank País". 1972.
- Order of Merit "XX Anniversary" (ISCM-H). 1976.
- Medal for the 250th Anniversary of the University of La Habana. 1978.

DELEGATIONS AND MISSIONS ABROAD
- Delegate to the World Congress for Peace and Sovereignty of Peoples. 1961.
- Participant in a mission to study yankee war crimes in Vietnam. Visit to several military fronts. May, 1967.
- Participant in Cuban medical-military delegation. Visit to several European socialist countries. 1969-70.

FOREIGN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
- Corresponding Member of the French Association of Surgery. Paris. 1949.
- Full Member of the International Society of Surgery. Brussels. 1949.
- Full Member of the Pan-American Medical Association. New York. 1954.
- Member of the American College of Surgery. Chicago. 1954.
- Full Member of the Italian Society of Surgery. Rome. 1954.

Source: Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas