Purpose of the App Review:
1) Does Neuroradiology Flashcards test high yield neuroradiology information?
2) What is the scope of the app? Does it include brain and spine images?
3) Does the app include a wide variety of pathology?
Introduction:
Many fields in medicine require deep understanding of neurologic pathologies. For that reason, many different specialties love heavily testing neuroradiology on boards and other exams.
Neuroradiology flashcards, developed by Hawki Inc, has 100 neuroradiology flashcards that include MRIs of the brain and back and also includes MRAs and some angiography.
It’s a simple, quick way to go over high yield neurorad images for the busy resident or student who is in desperate need of some study time.
User Interface:
The app opens with the first of 100 images. There is no introduction page, about page or page with references used to develop the content of the app.
The app includes 100 flashcards with different images. On the bottom of the screen, the user can indicate if they got the question correct or incorrect. The app will repeat incorrect questions at the end.
When the user taps the image, the opposite side of the flashcard showing the answer, differential and clinical pearls will appear.
The user can swipe right/left or use the question legend on the side of the screen to navigate.
Other features included are: shuffle option (right upper corner), restarting the quiz, or being able to choose to go over only the correct and incorrect flashcards.
Included in the flashcards are: MRIs (brain and spine) – which are tested on the sagittal, axial and coronal planes, and angiograms. The app only includes flashcards. It does not go in depth about pathology.
Additionally, the app does not include any references or authors. Although the information seems correct to my novice eyes, the validity of a medical app certainly drops without references.
Price:
- $3.99
Likes:
- Scalable, high quality images
- Flashcard included diagnosis, other possibly diagnosis, radiologic finding, and clinical pearls
- Can shuffle flashcards and mark them as incorrect to go over again
Dislikes:
- Only 100 images with repeats of similar images
- It would be nice if there were a feature that highlighted the abnormal finding so neophyte residents and students could understand pathology on each card
- App does not include references or authors of the app–user never knows who/how the content was developed
- I hope the developers add more images. The app doesn’t cover very common spinal cord abnormalities very well (herniated disc, spondylolisthesis, stenosis)
Healthcare providers that would benefit from the app:
- Radiologists
- Neurologists
- Neuroradiologists
- Physiatrists (PM&R)
- Internists
- medical students
Conclusion:
- Neuroradiology flashcards is an iOS app that includes 100 flashcards covering Neuroradiology including brain MRIs, back/spine MRIs, MRAs and angiograms. The app is very simple. The only content is the 100 flashcards.
- Some flashcards repeat the same pathology, but there is considerable variety included.
- All images are high quality and scalable, but the flashcards do not highlight the pathology on the images. Overall, useful app for residents trying to learn neuroradiology but the app would benefit from more images and more interactive features
iMedicalApps recommended?
- Yes
Rating:
Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
User Interface: 4/5 Stars. Simple app. Easy to use, intuitive flashcard app,
Multimedia Coverage: 3/5 Stars. The app just includes 100 radiology images. There aren’t any interactive features. Highlighting abnormalities on the images after a quiz would be helpful.
Price: 3/5 Stars. The app costs $2.99. For this price, I would expect more features or more flashcards. But overall, worth the price.
Real World Applicability: 4/5 Stars. This app is a reference/education app and will not be used daily but can be regularly used during downtime.
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad (compatible), iPod Touch (3rd generation and later)
Requires: iOS 5.0 or later
Tested on: iPhone 4S
