9 research outputs found

    Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students

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    Second Life is a multi-user virtual world platform which enables online learning through immersive activities. This study evaluates the perception of third-year biomedical engineering students about learning activities complementary to a biomedical imaging course carried out within Second Life and focused on training in the public presentation of scientific content to their peers. Between 2015 and 2017, students gave oral presentations on medical imaging topics selected from the proposals of their classmates. Participants were invited to complete an evaluation questionnaire. In the three years of the study, 133 students enrolled in the course (48, 46, and 39 consecutively), and 97 of them delivered the questionnaire (48%, 83%, and 92%, consecutively). Attendance at the sessions ranged between 88% and 44%. The students positively value the experiences, especially the teacher, the educational content, and the virtual island environment, with mean scores greater than or equal to 8.4, 7.7, and 7.7, respectively, on a 1–10-point scale. Overall, they valued Second Life as an attractive and suitable environment for their training in science communication skills, in which they gain self-confidence and are less afraid of speaking in public. Second Life enables students to present scientific content effectively to their peers, receiving hands-on training in the tasks of collecting, organizing, and presenting data, with the benefits of remote access, collaborative work, and social interaction.This research was founded by the Educational Innovation projects of the University of Malaga PIE13-072, PIE15-150, PIE17-113 and PIE19-217. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga/CBUA and Andalusian Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (PAIDI): TIC128. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

    Impact of compulsory participation of medical students in a multiuser online game to learn radiological anatomy and radiological signs within the virtual world Second Life

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    Competitive game- based learning within Second Life enables effective teaching of basic radiological anatomy and radiological signs to medical students, with good ac-ceptance and results when students participate voluntarily, but unknown in a com-pulsory context. The objectives of this study were to reproduce a competitive online game based on self- guided presentations and multiple-choice tests in a mandatory format, to evaluate its development and student perceptions compared to a volun-tary edition in 2015 (N= 90). In 2016 and 2017, respectively, 191 and 182 third-year medical students participated in the game as a mandatory course activity. The mean (±SD) score of the game was 74.7% (±19.5%) in 2015, 71.2% (±21.5%) in 2016, and 67.5% (±21.5%) in 2017 (P< 0.01). Participants valued positively the organization and educational contents but found the virtual world less attractive and the game less interesting than in the voluntary edition. The experience globally was rated with 8.2 (±1.5), 7.8 (±1.5), and 7.1 (±1.7) mean points (±SD) in a ten- point scale, in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions, respectively (P< 0.05). Competitive learning games within virtual worlds like Second Life have great learning potential in radiology, but the mean score in the game decreased, acceptance of virtual world technology was lower, and opinion about the game was worse with a compulsory participation, and even worse when dropouts were not allowed. Under the conditions in which this study was con-ducted, learning games in three-dimensional virtual environments should be volun-tary to maintain adequate motivation and engagement of medical students.This work was supported by the University of Málaga Innovative Education Projects, Grant Numbers: #PIE15-150, #PIE17-113, and #PIE19-217. Financing of the open access charge: University of Malaga / CBU

    [18F]FDG PET/CT in Short-Term Complications of COVID-19: Metabolic Markers of Persistent Inflammation and Impaired Respiratory Function

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    SARS-CoV-2 virus infects organs other than the lung, such as mediastinal lymph nodes, spleen, and liver, but, to date, metabolic imaging studies obtained in short-term follow-ups of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infection are rare. Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of [18F]FDG-PET/CT in the short-term follow-up of patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia and to explore the association of the findings with clinical prognostic markers. The prospective study included 20 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia (November 2020–March 2021). Clinical and laboratory test findings were gathered at admission, 48–72 h post-admission, and 2–3 months post-discharge, when [18F]FDG-PET/CT and respiratory function tests were performed. Lung volumes, spirometry, lung diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and respiratory muscle strength were measured. Volumetric [18F]FDG-PET/CT results were correlated with laboratory and respiratory parameters. Eleven [18F]FDG-PET/CT (55%) were positive, with hypermetabolic mediastinal lymphadenopathy in 90.9%. Mediastinal lesion’s SUVpeak was correlated with white cells’ count. Eleven (55%) patients had impaired respiratory function, including reduced DLCO (35%). SUVpeak was correlated with %predicted-DLCO. TLG was negatively correlated with %predicted- DLCO and TLC. In the short-term follow-up of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia, [18F]FDG-PET/CT findings revealed significant detectable inflammation in lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes that correlated with pulmonary function impairment in more than half of the patients

    Evaluación de un juego competitivo multiusuario para aprender radiología en pregrado dentro del entorno virtual 3D Second Life

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    Resultados y conclusiones: Los juegos competitivos de aprendizaje como LOR, desarrollados en mundos virtuales tridimensionales, tienen un gran potencial en Radiología. En las ediciones realizadas han participado 1037 estudiantes, que han valorado positivamente el contenido, la organización y la utilidad para su formación como médicos. . Cuando la participación es obligatoria, la puntuación media en el juego disminuye, la aceptación de la tecnología de mundos virtuales es menor y la opinión sobre el juego empeora. La edición abreviada estuvo marcada por el abandono de los estudiantes de primer y segundo curso por el esfuerzo que suponía compaginar las tareas del juego con las actividades del curso. La adaptación de LOR a la competición por equipos ha sido percibida muy positivamente por los estudiantes. La mayoría de los participantes en las ediciones 2019, 2020 y 2021 estuvieron de acuerdo en que habían colaborado como un equipo y que jugar en entornos competitivos les ayudaba aprender mejor. Los participantes han identificado esta actividad durante los dos años de pandemia como una experiencia lúdica de aprendizaje e interacción social, útil para su formación en Radiología.Introducción: La gamificación y los mundos virtuales encajan bien con el alto nivel de alfabetización tecnológica de los estudiantes de medicina de hoy y sus preferencias de aprendizaje y entretenimiento. Existen varios factores que pueden afectar a la percepción de los estudiantes en estas actividades: el trabajo en equipos, la participación voluntaria/obligatoria y la motivación. En 2015, se creó un juego competitivo para aprender radiología, League of Rays (LOR), en el mundo virtual Second Life en el que participaron voluntariamente 90 estudiantes de medicina, que lo percibieron positivamente y con mejor conocimiento a corto plazo que los no participantes. El objetivo de este estudio fue crear ediciones de LOR modificando su estructura para evaluar su efecto sobre los participantes. Material y Método: LOR es un juego competitivo desarrollado en Second Life que consta de 6 bloques temáticos semanales de anatomía y semiología torácica, abdominal y musculoesquelética. Los participantes tenían 5 días para ver contenidos docentes y 2 para contestar test sobre el tema y clasificarse según los puntos obtenidos. Al finalizar la experiencia, los participantes cumplimentaron un cuestionario de percepción. En 2016 y 2017, se realizaron ediciones obligatorias de LOR, no pudiendo abandonar en la última. En 2018, tuvo lugar una edición solo con los bloques de anatomía, con la participación de estudiantes de los tres primeros cursos. En 2019, se adaptó LOR a una competición por equipos de la Universidad de Málaga. En 2020 y 2021, se desarrollaron dos ediciones interuniversitarias, que coincidieron con el confinamiento por COVID19 y su época posterior de restricciones

    Radiology Seminars with Guest Professors in the Virtual Environment Second Life®: Perception of Learners and Teachers

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    Nine professors of radiology from six different cities were invited to give a 1-hour seminar in the virtual world Second Life® to 154 third-year medical students from the University of Málaga. Students and teachers performed a questionnaire about the cognitive load that implies receiving/teaching seminars inside Second Life@ and several characteristics involving the experience. This experience was considered remarkably enriching by teachers and learners and opens new interesting pathways for educational contact between students and teachers from different universities, with the advantages of reducing costs and travel time

    Training Scientific Communication Skills on Medical Imaging within the Virtual World Second Life: Perception of Biomedical Engineering Students

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    Second Life is a multi-user virtual world platform which enables online learning through immersive activities. This study evaluates the perception of third-year biomedical engineering students about learning activities complementary to a biomedical imaging course carried out within Second Life and focused on training in the public presentation of scientific content to their peers. Between 2015 and 2017, students gave oral presentations on medical imaging topics selected from the proposals of their classmates. Participants were invited to complete an evaluation questionnaire. In the three years of the study, 133 students enrolled in the course (48, 46, and 39 consecutively), and 97 of them delivered the questionnaire (48%, 83%, and 92%, consecutively). Attendance at the sessions ranged between 88% and 44%. The students positively value the experiences, especially the teacher, the educational content, and the virtual island environment, with mean scores greater than or equal to 8.4, 7.7, and 7.7, respectively, on a 1&ndash;10-point scale. Overall, they valued Second Life as an attractive and suitable environment for their training in science communication skills, in which they gain self-confidence and are less afraid of speaking in public. Second Life enables students to present scientific content effectively to their peers, receiving hands-on training in the tasks of collecting, organizing, and presenting data, with the benefits of remote access, collaborative work, and social interaction

    [18F]Fluorocholine PET/CT false positive: foreign body reaction mimicking anaplastic glioma progression. A case report

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    Abstract Background Foreign body reaction in brain tissue is a very rare immune response that has not been well studied. Hemostatic material has been reported as a possible trigger of this response in other organs and could be detected by [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT), but there is no reported experience about the role of [18F]fluorocholine in this finding. [18F]Fluorocholine has the potential to differentiate viable central nervous system tumors from other entities, so it is frequently used in the follow-up of neurosurgery patients. Case presentation A right frontoparietal neoplastic lesion was found in a young-aged patient with analgesic refractory headache. Surgical resection and postsurgical radiotherapy were performed, and the pathologist analysis turned out a cellular ependymoma with signs of anaplasia. In the follow-up, an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a suspicious lesion, so a [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT was performed. Increased uptake was described in the right parietal region on the margin of the residual cystic lesion. The patient got a complete resection which was confirmed later by MRI. In the pathology analysis, a focally congestive cerebral parenchyma with a central histiocytic reaction to a foreign body area was described. Conclusions Following the experience of the current case report, [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT could also show a false positive related to foreign body reaction. This entity should be considered to avoid unnecessary major surgery on our patients

    Differential Diagnosis of Hepatic Mass with Central Scar: Focal Nodular Hyperplasia Mimicking Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

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    Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary hepatic tumor that usually appears in young adults. Radical surgery is considered curative for this kind of tumor, so early diagnosis becomes essential for the prognosis of the patients. The main characteristic of this entity is the central scar, which is the center of differential diagnosis. We report the case of a 30-year-old man who was diagnosed with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma by ultrasonography. Contrast-enhanced CT confirmed this diagnosis, and the patient underwent a [18F] fluorocholine PET/CT. Hypermetabolism and the morphology in the nuclear medicine exploration suggest neoplastic nature of the lesion. Radical surgery was performed, and histopathologic analysis was performed, which resulted in focal nodular hyperplasia. Hepatic masses with central scar could have a difficult differential diagnosis, and focal nodular hyperplasia could mimic fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma imaging patterns. These morphofunctional characteristics have not been described in [18F] Fluorocholine PET/CT, so there is a need to find out the potential role PET/CT in the differential diagnosis of hepatic mass with central scar
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