PubMed · 9127404
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A D Mercando. 1997. Drug reference software on CD-ROM.. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-8159.1997.tb05502.x
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BACKGROUND: To create radiology-related interdisciplinary programs for the undergraduate education in terms of the new "Approbation Regulation". MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical students developed in collaboration with radiologists and clinical partners virtual, radiology-related interdisciplinary training courses for different fields. Students and teachers evaluated the acceptance of the programs' structure and content as well as the possibility to replace the radiologist partly during interdisciplinary lessons. RESULTS: Six target group oriented virtual, radiology-related interdisciplinary training courses were developed which will relieve the implementation of the new AR's demands for more interdisciplinary education in small groups and the dreaded shortage of personnel. CONCLUSION: By the use of web- and CDRom-based interdisciplinary course models different fields of medicine and diagnostic radiology can be bridged in the sense of the new AR's demands as well as manpower in radiology can be saved.
BACKGROUND: Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) is the most sensitive and accurate technique for preoperative staging and follow-up of rectal cancer. One of the most relevant problems of this technique is that the assessment of TRUS is possible only during real-time examination. Furthermore, interpretation of the ultrasound findings is difficult and requires long experience. We show the development of a new, cost-effective software solution for off-line examination and documentation of transrectal ultrasound. METHODS: The ultrasound device is connected to a frame-grabber card in a standard PC. Video capturing is done using a freeware software solution and various video codecs. The whole examination course is recorded. The examiner only has to concentrate on producing an artifact-free realization of the examination. RESULTS: The software solution offers a flexible review of each individual "frame" of the investigation on the personal computer, very similar to CT and MRI scans. Infiltration depth and lymph node status can be assessed at any time, independently of the investigation and the investigator. The picture quality is excellent even if a lossy codec is used. It is not necessary to do definitive assessment of the TRUS during the examination. CONCLUSIONS: This new technique gives a cost-effective possibility for high-quality off-line staging, re-examination, re-evaluation, and documentation of rectal cancer. TRUS becomes an examiner-independent objective examination technique for staging and follow-up of rectal cancer.
BACKGROUND: Interclinician variability in defining target volumes is a problem in conformal radiotherapy. A CD-ROM-based contouring tool was used to conduct a dummy run in an international trial of involved-field chemoradiotherapy for Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The CT scan of an eligible patient was installed on an "auto-run" CD-ROM incorporating a contouring program based on ImageJ for Windows, which runs on any personal computer equipped with a CD-ROM drive. This tool was initially piloted at four academic centers and was subsequently mailed, together with all relevant clinical, radiologic, and positron emission tomography findings, to all participating centers in the international trial. Clinicians were instructed to contour separate gross tumor volumes (GTVs) for the tumor and two enlarged nodes and a clinical target volume for the hilus. A reference "consensus" target volume for each target was jointly generated by three other clinicians. RESULTS: The data received from the four academic centers and 16 study participants were suitable for analysis. Data from one center was unsuitable for detailed analysis because the target volumes were contoured at 1.2-cm intervals. GTVs were available for a total of 21 tumors and 19 nodes, and 15 hilar clinical target volumes were available. The mean GTV of the primary tumor was 13.6 cm(3) (SD, 5.2; median, 12.3; range, 8.3-26.9). The variation in the center of the mass relative to the mean center of the mass in the left-right, ventrodorsal, and craniocaudal axes was 1.5, 0.4, and 1.0 mm, respectively. The largest volume variation was observed for the right hilar clinical target volume (mean, 33.7 cm(3); SD, 31.2; median, 20.3; range, 4.8-109.9). Smaller variations were observed for the subcarinal node (mean, GTV, 1.9 cm(3); SD, 1.2; median, 1.7; range, 0.5-5.3), except caudally where the node was difficult to distinguish from the pericardium. The "consensus" volumes for all targets were generally close to the median of the contoured values. CONCLUSION: Most clinicians were able to use this CD-ROM tool to contour target volumes in compliance with the study protocol. The rapid completion of the dummy run indicated the suitability of this approach for quality assurance in multicenter clinical trials. Routine use of similar tools will reduce the risk that new techniques (or study objectives) are misunderstood and/or misapplied in clinical trials.