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Jonathan Kruskal

Publications and source records attributed to Jonathan Kruskal.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Part II: preparing and assessing first-year radiology resident on-call readiness technical implementation.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of using a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)-based interactive examination system in evaluating the readiness of first year radiology residents before taking overnight call in the emergency department (ED) was reported in part I of this article. This report describes technical aspects for the design and implementation of this system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The examination system consists of two modules: Data Collection and Image Viewing. The Data Collection module was a personal computer (PC)-based DICOM storage server based on a free public domain software package, the Mallinckrodt Central Test Node. The Image Viewing module was a Java-based DICOM viewer created using another freeware package: zDicom ActiveX component. RESULTS: The examination takes place once a year at the end of the first 6-month rotation. Cases selected for the examination were actual clinical cases according to the American Society of Emergency Radiology core curriculum. In the 3-hour timed examination, each resident was required to read the cases and provide clinical findings and recommendations. Upper-level residents also participated in the examination to serve as a control. Answers were scored by two staff radiologists. CONCLUSION: We have been using this examination system successfully in our institution since 2003 to evaluate the readiness of the first-year residents before they take overnight call in the ED. This report describes a step-by-step procedure for implementing this system into a PC-based platform. This DICOM viewing software is available as freeware to other academic radiology institutions. The total cost for implementing this system is approximately 2000 US dollars.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2006

Impact of CT-guided drainage in the treatment of diverticular abscesses: size matters.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine whether abscess size can be used as a discriminating factor to guide management of patients with diverticular abscesses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a word search of our CT database between July 2001 and July 2002 for the CT diagnosis of diverticulitis. CTs were retrospectively reviewed as consensus opinion of two reviewers. CTs were evaluated for presence of an abscess, its location, maximum diameter, and feasibility of percutaneous abscess drainage. Abscesses were categorized into smaller than 3 cm and larger than or equal to 3 cm, and the management of these groups was compared. RESULTS: Thirty-one abscesses were noted in 30 (17%) of 181 patients with a CT diagnosis of diverticulitis. Twenty-two (73%) of 30 patients had 23 abscesses, all of which were smaller than 3 cm and were treated and resolved with antibiotics alone (p < 0.001). Eight (36%) of 22 required surgical treatment. Eight (26%) of 31 abscesses had a maximum diameter larger than or equal to 3 cm. Four (50%) of eight patients with abscesses 3.4-4.1 cm were treated with antibiotics alone. Four (50%) of eight abscesses, all larger than 4.1 cm, were treated with CT-guided drainage and one abscess required repeat drainage. After resolution of symptoms, surgery was performed in five (62.5%) of eight of the larger abscesses. CONCLUSION: Patients with abscesses smaller than 3 cm in size can be treated with antibiotics alone and, in some cases, as outpatients, and may not uniformly require surgery. This is also likely true for patients with abscesses 3-4 cm in size, although our results in this group were limited by a small sample size. Patients with abscesses larger than or equal to 4 cm can be managed with CT-guided abscess drainage followed by referral for surgical treatment.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed2005

Using movie clips in PowerPoint presentations: part 1, compatibility issues.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to discuss common compatibility issues relating to the use of movie clips in PowerPoint presentations. CONCLUSION: Our investigations found that successful display of movie clips in PowerPoint depends on the following three factors: movie file format, codec selection, and cross-platform compatibility. These factors primarily result from the rapid change in today's computer operating systems. Based on a compatibility study of common movie clips used in radiology presentations, a general guideline for preparing movie clips is presented. Also, a simple method is described for converting movie clips into compatible movie formats and reducing large movie clips to manageable file sizes to ensure smooth presentation.

Motion Pictures↗
PubMed2005

Using movie clips in PowerPoint presentations: part 2, movie editing.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe a simple method for editing movie clips for PowerPoint presentations. CONCLUSION: We describe a simple method for editing movie clips using Adobe Photoshop, a common software utility used by many radiologists for preparing digital images.

Motion Pictures↗
PubMed2005

Development of a radiology report monitoring system for case tracking.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop an automated system to monitor and collect radiology reports for case-tracking purposes. CONCLUSION: The system we developed allows users to automate the case-tracking process for either clinical follow-up or teaching purposes. With this system, radiologists can initiate the tracking of a case by dictating a keyword into the report. Any existing and future reports associated with the same patient will be collected automatically. The schematic that we developed is based on the Health Level Seven (HL7) standard, which is platform-independent. In our implementation, we used an IBM-compatible computer and commercially available software. Users can monitor the case-tracking progress from Web browsers.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

A Web-based ACR index for radiological diagnoses.

OBJECTIVE: We created an online computer system that allows radiologists to access the American College of Radiology (ACR) index for radiologic diagnoses from any Web browser. CONCLUSION: A total of 11,260 indexes (10 anatomic, 722 pathologic, 90 subanatomic, and 10,438 subpathologic) were integrated into this online system. Users can navigate the entire ACR hierarchic indexing structure with easy-to-use cascading dropdown lists. This password-protected system also allows free-text searches, ACR index searches, and bookmark functions. We have used this system in our departmental intranet for more than 2 years.

Abstracting and Indexing↗