Ryan Stockard
Enhancing Medical Imaging Education: Student Perception of Color-Mapping and Simulation Training
Authors: William Auffermann, MD, PHD
Department: Radiology
Background/Purpose: Perception in medical imaging is crucial for accurate diagnosis, but traditional grayscale imaging limits the human eye’s ability to distinguish subtle variations in tissue density. Color-mapping enhances these variations, making abnormalities more discernible—especially for trainees still developing diagnostic skills. RadSimPE, a software program designed to simulate a radiology workstation, integrates perceptual training and color-mapping to improve diagnostic accuracy in medical imaging. This study evaluates student experiences with RadSimPE’s simulation and color-mapping functionalities in learning to identify pulmonary nodules.
Methods: Second and fourth-year medical students participated in a structured educational session that included perceptual training followed by interactive simulations using RadSimPE. The students were exposed to both traditional grayscale and color-mapped chest CT images. After the session, participants completed surveys to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the software simulation and perceptual training.
Results: Survey data revealed that 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the combination of perceptual training and RadSimPE’s simulation was helpful in learning the skills necessary to identify pulmonary nodules. Additionally, 100% reported a positive overall experience with the training session. Furthermore, 67% agreed that the simulation was more educationally useful than a traditional didactic lecture and expressed that such simulations would be helpful for learning additional radiology topics.
Conclusion: These findings support the integration of simulation tools like RadSimPE with color-mapping in radiology education, emphasizing their potential to enhance diagnostic training through an interactive learning experience.
