MeRIT³ - Magnetic Resonance Imaging Training
and Testing Tool
The off-line component to this technology is called MeRIT3 (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Tutoring and Testing Tool). This tutoring environment can either be used as a stand-alone teaching software (using static data models) or as a dynamic environment that taps into the facilities databases for teaching.
The tutoring environment caters to the needs of the individuals in the work-flow model by providing a self-paced auto-customizing user-friendly learning and realistic testing scenarios.
This tutoring system will use advanced Machine Learning (AI) techniques to track the user’s performance over time and then provide customized lesson plans and testing geared to the needs of the individual user. This will ensure that the referring physicians, technologists and radiologists associated with the facility are completely prepared with the best information in the field.
MeRIT 3 will aid the referring physician by providing a handy review of symptoms and diseases with special focus on when he/she should order an MRI exam, of what region and with what specifications (with or without contrast). The tutoring system will also train him in the latest reimbursement procedures and the guidelines to follow. Lastly the tutor will analyze the strengths and the weaknesses of the physician and accordingly set tests and further lesson plans.
The technologists is the main person interacting with the patient and is responsible (amongst other things) for the collection of the majority of the patient data. The technologist also decides what protocols to use while scanning and the angle of the images, thickness of the slices etc. MeRIT3 assists the technologist by providing all the knowledge about the physics and the technology behind the MRI machine. It provides comprehensive text and questions that are dynamically configured based on what the tutor thinks the students needs. The system also has a rich question bank that it taps into to custom design exercise plans and test papers. The radiologist uses reference books to refresh their memory about topics and subject matter that they may be called on to recollect while dealing with a patient. Ordinary books (as well as on-line ones) use static text and thumbnail images to convey information. MeRIT3 will dynamically generate the text and then randomly select a case image relevant to that chapter and section for the radiologist. This provides him/her with a book with constantly changing patient cases thereby retaining the radiologist’s focus of attention.
Along with the rich and dynamic text and case libraries, the tutor also provides a realistic testing environment that mimics as closely as possible what the radiologist would encounter in real-life. This form of tutoring is called “immersive training”. Only if the radiologist faces what they would see with a real patient (instead of a multiple choice) will they retain the information learned and be able to effectively apply it.
