Enhancement of Musculoskeletal Radiology Resident Education with the Use of an Individual Smart Portable Ultrasound Device (iSPUD)

Rationale and Objectives

Many medical specialties have incorporated portable ultrasound into their educational curriculum. Our objective was to determine the utility of an individual smart portable ultrasound device (iSPUD) as an educational tool in resident and fellowship Musculoskeletal Radiology training.

Materials and Methods

After Institutional Review Board approval, volunteer radiology trainees were instructed to use the iSPUD (Philips Lumify ultrasound probe and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8 inch tablet), asked to identify 10 wrist structures with the iSPUD and completed a Likert scale-based, pretest survey. Trainees were then given the iSPUD for 3 days of independent scanning practice. Afterward, trainees were asked to identify the same 10 wrist structures with the iSPUD and to complete a Likert scale-based, post-test survey.

Results

Twenty trainees volunteered to participate. Trainee performance on the 10-wrist structure identification test with the iSPUD resulted in a pretest mean number correct of 2.5 ± 2.16 and a post-test mean number correct of 9.85 ± 0.37 ( p < 0.001). On the pretest survey, 68.42% (13/20) had never performed and 42.11% (8/20) had never interpreted a musculoskeletal ultrasound. On the post-test survey, 18/20 (94.74%) strongly agreed that access to an iSPUD would improve their ability to perform musculoskeletal ultrasound, improve ultrasound-guided interventional skills, and help them become better Radiologists.

Conclusion

The use of an iSPUD as a tool in Musculoskeletal Radiology resident and fellow education can improve clinical ultrasound skills, build trainee technical confidence during diagnostic ultrasound procedures, and help trainees achieve their goal of becoming a competent Radiologist.

Introduction

Auscultation of the heart and lungs with a stethoscope is an integral part of medical education. Aspiring clinicians practice on family members, friends, and classmates well before applying their skills to patients. Ultrasound (US) devices have only in recent years become compact enough with an associated decrease in cost to allow a model of clinician training similar to the use of the stethoscope. The individual smart portable ultrasound device (iSPUD), a portable ultrasound device that can plug directly into a smartphone or tablet, is an example of such a device; utilization of this technology is becoming increasingly more common in medical education and training.

Several studies have investigated the application of iSPUDs in medical student ( ) and resident education ( ) among different medical specialties. For example, Andersen et al. showed that medical students with minimal training were able to use a portable ultrasound device as a supplement to standard physical examination and successfully acquire images and assess for the presence or absence of reduced left ventricular function, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, hydronephrosis, bladder distension, gallstones, abdominal free-fluid, cholecystitis, and estimate the diameter of the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava with up to 93.5% diagnostic accuracy ( ). Kotagal et al. demonstrated that general surgery residents were able to increase their confidence in performing portable ultrasound scans in deep vein thrombosis assessment or to perform Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma scans after a limited number of didactic lectures and hands-on teaching sessions ( ). Skalski et al. also showed that 84% of internal medicine residents were able to independently obtain high quality ultrasound images of the aorta and kidneys with portable ultrasound after a half-day simulation workshop scanning standardized patients with normal anatomy ( ).

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Materials and Methods

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Results

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Table 1

Volunteer Trainees by Training Level

PGY Level N = 20

#Trainees PGY-2 5 PGY-3 5 PGY-4 2 PGY-5 5 PGY-6 3

PGY, postgraduate year.

Table 2

Clinical Pre and Post-Test Results of Trainees on 10 Wrist Structure Identification With the iSPUD

Clinical Test Result-10 Wrist Structures Mean Correct Pretest Post-test 2.5 ± 2.16 9.85 ± 0.37

iSPUD, individual smart portable ultrasound device.

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Discussion

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Conclusion

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Appendix 1

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Appendix 2

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References

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Enhancement of Musculoskeletal Radiology Resident Education with the Use of an Individual Smart Portable Ultrasound Device (iSPUD)

Rationale and Objectives

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

References

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