Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study (2024)

Weimer, J., Ruppert, J., Vieth, T., Weinmann-Menke, J., Buggenhagen, H., Künzel, J., Rink, M., Lorenz, L., Merkel, D., Ille, C., Yang, Y., Müller, L., Kloeckner, R., & Weimer, A. (2024). Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), Article 619. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7

Weimer, Johannes ; Ruppert, Johannes ; Vieth, Thomas et al. / Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study. In: BMC Medical Education. 2024 ; Vol. 24, No. 1.

@article{10a3fe80b4a54a838034f2c5588e5cdb,

title = "Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study",

abstract = "Introduction/aim: Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Material and methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a medical school with 3rd year medical students as part of a voluntary extracurricular ultrasound course. The participants completed evaluations (7-level Likert response formats and dichotomous questions “yes/no”) and theoretical tests at two time points (T1 = pre course; T2 = post course) to measure their subjective and objective cross-sectional imaging skills competencies. A questionnaire on baseline values and previous experience identified potential influencing factors. Results: A total of 141 participants were included in the study. Most participants had no previous general knowledge of ultrasound diagnostics (83%), had not yet performed a practical ultrasound examination (87%), and had not attended any courses on sonography (95%). Significant subjective and objective improvements in competencies were observed after the course, particularly in the subjective sub-area of “knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships” (p = 0.009). Similarly, participants showed improvements in the objective sub-areas of “theoretical ultrasound competencies” (p < 0.001), “radiological cross-section understanding and knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships in the abdomen” (p < 0.001), “visual-spatial ability in radiological cross-section images” (p < 0.001), and “visual-spatial ability” (p = 0.020). Conclusion: Ultrasound training courses can enhance the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, radiological cross-sectional image understanding, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Due to the reciprocal positive effects of the training, students should receive radiology training at an early stage of their studies to benefit as early as possible from the improved skills, particularly in the disciplines of anatomy and radiology.",

author = "Johannes Weimer and Johannes Ruppert and Thomas Vieth and Julia Weinmann-Menke and Holger Buggenhagen and Julian K{\"u}nzel and Maximilian Rink and Liv Lorenz and Daniel Merkel and Carlotta Ille and Yang Yang and Lukas M{\"u}ller and Roman Kloeckner and Andreas Weimer",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2024.",

year = "2024",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7",

language = "English",

volume = "24",

journal = "BMC Medical Education",

issn = "0308-0110",

number = "1",

}

Weimer, J, Ruppert, J, Vieth, T, Weinmann-Menke, J, Buggenhagen, H, Künzel, J, Rink, M, Lorenz, L, Merkel, D, Ille, C, Yang, Y, Müller, L, Kloeckner, R & Weimer, A 2024, 'Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study', BMC Medical Education, vol. 24, no. 1, 619. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7

Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study. / Weimer, Johannes; Ruppert, Johannes; Vieth, Thomas et al.
In: BMC Medical Education, Vol. 24, No. 1, 619, 12.2024.

Research output: Journal Articles › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study

AU - Weimer, Johannes

AU - Ruppert, Johannes

AU - Vieth, Thomas

AU - Weinmann-Menke, Julia

AU - Buggenhagen, Holger

AU - Künzel, Julian

AU - Rink, Maximilian

AU - Lorenz, Liv

AU - Merkel, Daniel

AU - Ille, Carlotta

AU - Yang, Yang

AU - Müller, Lukas

AU - Kloeckner, Roman

AU - Weimer, Andreas

N1 - Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - Introduction/aim: Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Material and methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a medical school with 3rd year medical students as part of a voluntary extracurricular ultrasound course. The participants completed evaluations (7-level Likert response formats and dichotomous questions “yes/no”) and theoretical tests at two time points (T1 = pre course; T2 = post course) to measure their subjective and objective cross-sectional imaging skills competencies. A questionnaire on baseline values and previous experience identified potential influencing factors. Results: A total of 141 participants were included in the study. Most participants had no previous general knowledge of ultrasound diagnostics (83%), had not yet performed a practical ultrasound examination (87%), and had not attended any courses on sonography (95%). Significant subjective and objective improvements in competencies were observed after the course, particularly in the subjective sub-area of “knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships” (p = 0.009). Similarly, participants showed improvements in the objective sub-areas of “theoretical ultrasound competencies” (p < 0.001), “radiological cross-section understanding and knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships in the abdomen” (p < 0.001), “visual-spatial ability in radiological cross-section images” (p < 0.001), and “visual-spatial ability” (p = 0.020). Conclusion: Ultrasound training courses can enhance the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, radiological cross-sectional image understanding, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Due to the reciprocal positive effects of the training, students should receive radiology training at an early stage of their studies to benefit as early as possible from the improved skills, particularly in the disciplines of anatomy and radiology.

AB - Introduction/aim: Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Material and methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a medical school with 3rd year medical students as part of a voluntary extracurricular ultrasound course. The participants completed evaluations (7-level Likert response formats and dichotomous questions “yes/no”) and theoretical tests at two time points (T1 = pre course; T2 = post course) to measure their subjective and objective cross-sectional imaging skills competencies. A questionnaire on baseline values and previous experience identified potential influencing factors. Results: A total of 141 participants were included in the study. Most participants had no previous general knowledge of ultrasound diagnostics (83%), had not yet performed a practical ultrasound examination (87%), and had not attended any courses on sonography (95%). Significant subjective and objective improvements in competencies were observed after the course, particularly in the subjective sub-area of “knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships” (p = 0.009). Similarly, participants showed improvements in the objective sub-areas of “theoretical ultrasound competencies” (p < 0.001), “radiological cross-section understanding and knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships in the abdomen” (p < 0.001), “visual-spatial ability in radiological cross-section images” (p < 0.001), and “visual-spatial ability” (p = 0.020). Conclusion: Ultrasound training courses can enhance the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, radiological cross-sectional image understanding, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Due to the reciprocal positive effects of the training, students should receive radiology training at an early stage of their studies to benefit as early as possible from the improved skills, particularly in the disciplines of anatomy and radiology.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85195353837&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7

DO - 10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 38840140

AN - SCOPUS:85195353837

SN - 0308-0110

VL - 24

JO - BMC Medical Education

JF - BMC Medical Education

IS - 1

M1 - 619

ER -

Weimer J, Ruppert J, Vieth T, Weinmann-Menke J, Buggenhagen H, Künzel J et al. Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study. BMC Medical Education. 2024 Dec;24(1):619. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7