Imaging
ResolutionMD demonstrates how highly advanced CT & MRI manipulation can be done on a smartphone
The ability to review patients’ imaging studies on smartphones is a natural progression for mobile physicians. Most hospital PACS (Picture archiving and communication system) now allow viewing not only on any hospital computer but often from home PCs. The ability to view the same images from your iPhone would be a great boon for many physicians and several contenders are already en route to market or have arrived. In addition the extremely dense pixel resolution of the iPhone 4 Retina Display makes it an obvious target for mobile radiology viewers.
In the past, this site has reviewed two applications already available on the iPhone, eFilm (review) and OsiriX (review). One problem that any mobile imaging viewer has to contend with is the vast amount of data (in Mb) of a DICOM image set and the processing power required to perform 2d and 3d transformations. For example, OsiriX stores all the data locally on the iPhone, using WiFi to transmit whole data sets to the phone or performing queries to the PACS server to request data sets to be sent to the phone.
iRadiology App Provides Massive Amounts of Radiology Content, and its Free [App Review]
A new radiology learning tool was just released in the App Store, the iRadiology App. This app has a catalog of over 500 radiology cases designed to help medical students and residents improve their plain film,CT, and MRI reading skills. The cases are derived from Dr. Gillian Lieberman, who is the currently Director of Harvard Medical Student training and Associate Director of the Residency Program at Beth Israel Medical Center. This legitimizes the content of the application. In this review we’ll discuss the application further and also show you how to turn on the “Zoom” feature built into the iPhone that will enable you to improve the utility of this medical app.
OsiriX Used in Research to Show Accurate Mobile Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis, but Many Questions Still Left Unanswered
In a recent study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) researchers showed how the DICOM viewer, OsiriX, can effectively help diagnose acute appendicitis.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to us. We reviewed OsiriX a few months ago and were definitely fans of this DICOM viewer then.
My only issue is with the lack of information provided in the study. You can view the abstract of the study but the full study is currently not yet published. Yes, the findings are interesting, but lets hold back some of the excitement until we get more information. I’ve seen multiple medical and non medical outlets reporting on this story, but I don’t think they are looking at how the study itself was performed in detail. The main points mentioned in the abstract were the following:
Human Body 3D Anatomy App Might be Useful for Patient Education, But Not Much Else [App Review]
The Human Body 3D Anatomy App enables you to view different organ systems from a 3D perspective. The app also offers an encyclopedia with some basic information about the organ systems. It currently holds the #2 ranking in the paid medical apps section and costs $3.99. This app has some of the same 3D features and graphics found in the 3D Brain app, which we recently reviewed. Unlike the 3D Brain app that has detailed labeling of structures, this app’s largest shortcoming is the lack of labels on any of the structures present. I’ll mention more of these shortcomings in this full review.
Pocket Heart App: More Than Just a Good Looking Medical App [App Review]
Get yourself a copy of Pocket Heart (iTunes price is $5.99) and you’ll immediately be impressed by this app. Yes, the graphics and animations will be what first grabs your attention, but you’ll soon find out in this review that Pocket Heart is truly a good learning tool for cardiac anatomy and physiology.
iAnatomy App: Improve Your Ability to Read CT Images [App Review]
While on the wards, everyone tells me reading CT images takes practice, practice, and more practice. Reading CT images is becoming crucial for gross anatomy as well, when I was a first year we definitely had to read cross sectional CT images for gross anatomy tests. This ability is put to practice on the wards early on. The look on med students faces when residents try to take them through an abnormal CT image can be absolutely comical.
When I’m being taught by residents and attendings, they always tell me in order to recognize underlying pathology, you need to first know what normal looks like. What structures should you be looking for at a particular vertebral level? What bones are surrounding certain vasculature in key areas? These are just a few of the questions I was hoping the iAnatomy app, developed by Dr. Anouk Stein, would help teach.
OsiriX Medical App Puts a Small DICOM Workstation in Your Pocket [App Review]
One problem that has plagued physicians in specialties where imaging is important is how to describe a patient’s imaging findings to a colleague. Certainly, the radiologist’s report is helpful but sometimes it’s not enough. Particularly for surgeons and interventional radiologists, imaging findings are like a road map to a procedure. If you’ve ever given driving directions to an out of towner, you’ve seen the look of confusion overcoming their face as you desperately pile on landmarks hoping they don’t get lost. But, if you are a physician, how do you communicate the subtleties of abnormal anatomy without pictures? This review will discuss how this application helps put a legitimate image viewer in the palm of your hand via the iPhone Operating System.
Joslin Chest Atlas App Helps You Learn Your Chest Films [App Review]
Joslin Chest Atlas (v2.5), made by IdiogenicOsmoles, and costing $14.99, was just updated. This medical app aims to help healthcare providers improve their ability to read chest x-rays.
Learning how to read chest x-rays is one of the most essential tasks you learn in your clinical years. If you’re in the wards late at night and your patient is decompensating, often one of the first tests you order is a plain chest film. In these acute settings, you don’t have time to wait for a radiologist to read your results. That’s one of the reasons why having the ability to properly read a chest film is essential if you’re a healthcare provider.
In this review I’ll go through the features this app provides and explain how it can be used as a learning tool.
Blausen Human Atlas App Enhances Physician Patient Relationship [App Review]
By: Iltifat Husain, MD/MPH, MS4 and Yousif Alkadhi, MD
One of the toughest aspects of medicine is communicating medical conditions and procedures to patients who have limited medical knowledge through the use of only words. With clinic times becoming shortened, this communication is often under strain. The new 2.0 version of the Blausen Human Atlas application aims to help providers with this type of communication. This app allows medical professionals access to a vast library of 3D video animations and images that aid in explaining medical conditions to laypersons.
