A video system that watches over children with epilepsy as they sleep, lessening the risk of death should seizures occur. A new antibiotics obtained from the local fruit mangosteen that will minimise the spread of a common infection in hospitals.

These are some recent examples of the cutting-edge research that Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has come up with. More are likely to follow as SGH opened its new training and research institute at its Outram Road campus on Saturday morning.

The 13-storey, $360 million building with a total floor area of 75,000 sq m is the largest training in the world that includes laboratories, mock wards, conference facilities and offices all under one roof.

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the building called Academia, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said that the building was first conceived as a new home for the SGH Department of Pathology but has since become a hub.

"Today, it has evolved to become a hub for diagnostic, education and research endeavors, and to serve as an incubator for biomedical breakthroughs and care innovations," he said.