Medical Imaging Teacher: A program to simulate X-ray images of the body by considering kVp, mAs and FFD values

• Main Authors: Umit Kara, Huseyin Ozan Tekin, Mehmet Nuri Kivrak, Gokberk Yagci
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2017-06-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Medical Physics
• Subjects: Medical Imaging; X-ray; Mobile Applications
• Online Access: http://ijmp.mums.ac.ir/article_8466_100c99e56186bba2d13409638bab4944.pdf

Introduction: Teaching styles and methods have been constantly changing in the recent years. In the 1980s and 90s, the world was introduced to various developed devices, such as smart boards and early generation smart phones that had an immediate innovative effect on education. These advancements has resulted in a considerable improvement in the current educational techniques. The innovations in medical techniques and their quality is of paramount importance. The aim of this study was to provide an innovative and useful software on radiological applications and contribute to the related literature. Materials and Methods: The Medical Imaging Teacher (MIT) program was created and the prototype application was implemented on the Android platform for free use. The programing and testing of the usability of the application were performed by the users of the Google Play Store. Results: In this program, we have developed new software to simulate the X-ray images of the body by considering the peak kilovoltage (kVp), milliamperage per second (mAs), and film focus distance (FFD) values. The application has been downloaded more than 1,000 times without paid advertising. We enrolled 131 participants, who made comments and gave 4.8 points on average. Conclusion: It can be concluded that with innovative digital programs, such as the MIT, the medical machine-based learning and medical applications have risen to new levels. The software on medical testing and examination is gaining increasing popularity among the health-related applications for smart phones.