Evolving Education: Highly Complementary
By Keith Loria
Radiology Today
Vol. 26 No. 4 P. 8
New simulation software merges hands-on experience with virtual reality.
A simulation software for radiologic technologists, called ScanLabCT, aims to enhance training and improve the technical skills of rad techs. By focusing on practical applications tied to clinical objectives, ScanLabCT seeks to bridge the gap between academic training and hands-on experience, ultimately enhancing the quality of imaging services and patient care.
Matthew Hayes, founder and president of ScanLab, notes that the software allows users to engage with realistic scenarios and adjust various imaging parameters in a controlled environment. Over his career, he’s worked as a tech assistant, a technologist, a chief tech, a director, a manager, and a professor.
“The introduction of this tool reflects the increasing demand for advanced skills in radiology as the field evolves with new technologies,” he says. “All of this comes from a need and wishing that I had certain things at different parts of my career.”
ScanLab’s online CT simulator software helps students safely and efficiently improve their skills while providing educators and managers with the tools they need for objective clinical assessment. This allows operators to gain a meaningful experience that would normally take months or years to acquire.
“Through simulation, everyone can have the same opportunities that I had,” Hayes says. “This is leveling the playing field for the good of patients.”
Two Worlds Meet
ScanLabCT combines virtual reality with interactive patient scenarios and image acquisition to simulate the clinical elements of everyday practice. Additionally, it features image reconstruction assessments and critical thinking questions designed to enhance understanding and retention of information.
“In normal clinical practice, you’re not allowed to make mistakes so when it comes to the contrast we’re injecting, as well as the nature of CT in iodizing radiation, as a technologist, you’re expected to know what to do, but you’re not allowed to practice and play and experiment,” Hayes says. “That means there are people who are not empowered to critically think. I like to think if people are trained correctly, they can be the best in the world.”
Hayes also believes that simulation without a clinical objective lacks value. With this philosophy in mind, users of ScanLabCT are tasked with acquiring localizers and 3D helical images that align with the criteria outlined in the user interface. This encompasses various parameters such as slice thickness, window settings, kernel selection, and slice coverage, among others.
“If you’re scanning patients in real life, every one of them is different,” he says. “In simulation, a lot of it deals with previously acquired images that you are manipulating and we’re pretending they are on a real person. You can’t hurt anyone by practicing.”
At the conclusion of each ScanLab examination, users are given a set of randomized questions of varying difficulty designed to test their knowledge across multiple concept categories, including anatomy, angiography, artifacts, clinical procedures, parameters and trade-offs, pathology, patient preparation and care, and safety. Users receive scores based on their grasp of these individual concepts, allowing them to identify areas of strength and weakness for further improvement.
ScanLabCT is a web-based app that is available in 117 languages and can work on most computers with a graphics card and internet. The recommended browser is the most up-to-date version of Google Chrome. ScanLab is sold to a cohort, such as a school or hospital, and the license is good for one year.
“We want people to use this, and there are a lot of tutorials and conversations we have,” Hayes says. “Our team onboards everyone to be comfortable on day one, and we have those asynchronous modules and a test to make sure they understand how it works.”
Diversifying Software
There are other companies getting into the CT simulation software space, and several have started to gain prominence in the industry. For example, Rad Tech Education’s Virtual CT Trainer Software is designed to teach basic CT from the ground up.
“The software has an education area as well as the CT simulation,” says Brent Piekkola, manager and owner of the company. “The software teaches how to do all of the common basic exams done in CT. Our software is designed to teach the technologist with little to no CT experience the basics of becoming a CT technologist and how to scan all of the basic bread and butter scanning protocols.”
Piekkola, who has been a technologist for more than 30 years and a CT technologist for over 13 years, designed and wrote the software intending to make simulations as real as possible. “If the technologist takes the software/training seriously, they will learn how to become a CT technologist using the software with the addition of hands-on experience,” Piekkola says.
The CT simulation takes the technologist through every step of the CT scanning process. They also have the option to turn the visual step-by-step instructions off, if they want to practice without any guidance.
“Every CT simulation actually shows the patient moving the scanner with breath holds and scanner sounds,” Piekkola says, explaining the scanner sounds were recorded from an actual CT scanner. “The patient moves through the scanner like a real patient.”
The education portion of the software is structured in modules that go through all of the basic CT education needed to become a CT technologist and pass the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists CT boards.
“The software is interactive, allowing the student to do all the necessary steps they would be required to do with a real patient,” Piekkola says. “It is designed to make them do the steps in the proper order without skipping any steps. The software will not let them move ahead until they have completed all of the needed steps.” The software also has a working injector with contrast volume countdown and a syringe that shows the contrast volume decreasing.
Rad Tech Education’s software is Windows (Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10, or 11) based only and system requirements include a 1.30 GHz processor or higher; 2 GB RAM or higher; 2 GB of hard drive space, and a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 or higher.
“We are always available if any issues arise but this is a rare occurrence,” Piekkola says. “The software runs very stable on the Windows systems.”
The software is a one-time purchase with a lifetime license and is an instant download from the company’s website. Discounts are available if purchased as part of any 24-credit courses or bundles.
Piekkola cautions that simulation software can never replace hands-on experience. The software is designed for someone who wants to transition into the CT modality, and it teaches them all they need to know to make the transition a much easier process.
— Keith Loria is a freelance writer based in Oakton, Virginia. He is a frequent contributor to Radiology Today.