Assessing the neuroanatomy knowledge and spatial ability of radiotherapy technologist undergraduates using an
Guillaume Vogin1,2,3, Marc Fauvel4, Gabriela Hossu4
1Department of Radiation Therapy, Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France. Guillaume.vogin@baclesse.lu.
Objective:
To assess the use of a volumetric image display simulation tool (VDST) for the evaluation of applied radiological neuroanatomy knowledge and spatial understanding of radiotherapy technologist (RTT) undergraduates.
Methods:
Ninety-two third-year RTT students from three French RTT schools took an examination using software that allows visualization of multiple volumetric image series. To serve as a reference, 77 first- and second-year undergraduates, as well as ten senior neuroradiologists, took the same examination. The test included 13 very-short-answer questions (VSAQ) and 21 exercises in which examinees positioned markers onto preloaded brain MR images from a healthy volunteer. The response time was limited. Each correct answer scored 100 points, with a maximum possible test score of 3,400 (VSAQ = 1,300; marker exercise = 2,100). Answers were marked automatically for the marker positioning exercise and semi-automatically for the VSAQs against prerecorded expected answers.
Results:
Overall, the mean test score was 1,787 (150-3,300) and the standard deviation was 781. Scores were highly significantly different between all evaluated groups (p < 0.001). The interoperator reproducibility was 0.90. All the evaluated groups could be discriminated by VSAQ, marker, and overall total scores independently (p ≤ 0.0001 to 0.001). The test was able to discriminate between the three schools either by VSAQ scores (p < 0.001 to 0.02) or by overall total score (p < 0.001 to 0.05).
Conclusion:
This software is a high-quality evaluation tool for the assessment of radiological neuroanatomy knowledge and spatial understanding in RTT undergraduates.
Key Points:
• This VDST allows volumetric image analysis of MR studies. • A high reliability test could be created with this tool. • Test scores were strongly associated with the examinee expertise level.
