Fundamentals of Diagnostic Radiology CD-ROM
Author: Cupido Daniels Individual/InstitutionISBN: 9780944838716 ISBN10: 0944838715
Published: 1996 | | CD-ROM
Price: $ 19.95 was 39.95
RadioGraphics | Volume 17, Number 5
"The general purpose of the CD-ROM is to provide an interactive forum for learning how to interpret diagnostic radiologic images through tutorials, actual patient cases, and quizzes. The intended target audience ranges from medical student and technologist to junior resident and clinical trainee. The content covers the chest, abdomen and pelvis, musculoskeletal system, and neurologic system.
"The format of the program is in a question and answer style and is geared toward the trainee. For example, a case of testicular torsion is first presented with the associated clinical symptoms, after which the user is prompted to choose between ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), or radiography as the next best step in the diagnostic workup. In this case, choosing CT or radiography brings up a window that suggests the user rethink the choice. Personally, I prefer a buzzer or some other sound cue to indicate an error, but the program has no sound, which is one of its few shortcomings.
"For each content section, the program offers tutorials, as well as quizzes for those of us who feel the need to test our knowledge base in a more threatening environment. In addition, the section menu features a particularly slick item titled 'Glossary' that allows the user to click on an alphabetical index of the disease entities and radiographic signs included in the four sections (this feature is rather like a poor man's teaching file). Each entity is clearly marked with arrows or highlights, and there is generous use of color-coded hypertext that allows the user to move quickly to other related entities and images.
"I am usually critical of any radiology learning tool, text or otherwise, labeled 'fundamental' or 'basic,' because the designation is often a paraphrase for 'lacking substance.' In this CD-ROM, however, I found that the editors put much thought into the material provided in all sections, with one possible exception. The content of the musculoskeletal section was insufficient, with only six cases and two magnetic resonance images presented. For this reason, I would downgrade the level of the target audience to senior medical students in their radiology rotation and enthusiastic first-year radiology residents looking for an overview of their chosen field.
"Part of reviewing software is to point out the quirks inherent in any program of this magnitude. I expected to find the usual faults and errors associated with most Windows programs but was pleasantly surprised. Installation of the disk is fairly intuitive to the seasoned computer user. However, those with an aversion to the Windows format may stumble initially because certain video settings must be modified to achieve maximum resolution of the images. Overall the images were crisp and remarkably diagnostic. Despite the Windows format, the CD seems fairly stable, most likely because little data is transferred to the hard drive, therefore requiring continuous reading from the disk. With my system (including a 486DX4-100 processor and 6X CD-ROM player), this access was not too annoying; however, users with slower CD players may suffer. I purposely caused the screen to go blank a few times by mixing up the order in which I clicked the color-coded hypertext, but I suspect most users will not be as erratic in their day-to-day use.
"In summary, this CD provides a nice interactive teaching format for the medical student or technologist, but it is lacking in certain content that would make it more valuable as a fundamental text for radiology residents. The program's use of color-coded hypertext makes case evaluation easy and instructive; however, the addition of sound would be a great enhancement."
David O. Griffith, MD