Revolutionizing MRI Education at N.A. Colleges
How Software MRI Simulators Enhance Student Learning and Create Differentiated Educational Programs
Introduction
The demand for MRI scans in North America is high and is only expected to increase. Many more colleges and universities are opening MRI programs to meet the job market’s rising demand for MRI technologists. However, the increased choice of MRI programs has made it it harder for any single college program to stand out. Colleges need to find ways to differentiate themselves from other programs.
This can be done by addressing three core topics/questions that relate to what students seek most from their studies:
One solution which address these three topics at the same time is to implement a software MRI simulator into the education and program.
This whitepaper will answer the following questions:
1. What is a software MRI simulator?
Software MRI simulators recreate the MRI scanning process on a computer, to allow for more available and scalable MRI practice. These simulators mainly focus on training for MRI technologists.
Specifically, software simulators help students to:
Software simulators are key to improving how effectively students learn. They allow students to perform 10X as many scans in the same amount of time, to train on many more different sets of situations than one normally encounters in the real world, and to practice whenever, wherever, and for any length of time they wish.
2. How can an MRI simulator give students more hands-on experience?
The best way to learn a new skill is to spend a lot of time practicing it in the real world. Doctors learn most by treating real patients. Pilots learn most by flying real airplanes. And MRI technologists learn most by running MRI scans. ?
However, a real MRI scanner is very expensive to purchase and to run. Most college programs therefore cannot afford to give their students all the practice they need to master this skill. Only when they go on externship do students get the opportunity to run more scans, but that is both late in the education and often still limited.
This is why MRI simulators are such effective tools for learning. Just like flight simulators enable pilots to practice without needing a real airplane, MRI simulators enable your students to practice without needing a real scanner.
In fact, the only thing students need to use most simulators is a laptop and an internet connection. Students are free to practice as much as they want, and wherever and whenever they happen to be.
Colleges that use an MRI simulator therefore have an advantage most other MRI programs do not have – unlimited practice time. The result is that students who will learn faster and more effectively at the specific college – compared to those that don’t use a simulator.
“But can a software MRI simulator really create the same experience as a real scanner?”
The first concern most program directors or instructors ask is: “Can an online simulator really create the same experience as a real MRI scanner?”
The answer is: “It depends on what software MRI simulator you use.”
There are actually two kinds of software MRI simulators, Image library and True MRI simulator.
Limited image-library simulators
Image bank simulators come in two forms: pure image bank simulators and MIPS/MPR-based simulators. These simulators rely on pre-acquired images to mimic the scanning process, utilizing various tricks and techniques.
Pure image bank simulators load pre-existing images from a database, based on the parameters the trainee selected in the interface. However, given that the database needs to return the image that is closest resembles one with the parameters the used, it poses a technical problem. Every potential change that someone makes in a parameter corresponds to a new image, and thus, if there is not an infinitely large database of images, then the database will not be able to return the right image. This ultimately means that, in the best case, the simulator will be very limited, but in the worst case the trainee will learn the wrong things (by being presented images that do not correspond to the scans made).
MIPS/MPR-based simulators, on the other hand, employ pre-acquired isotropic 3D images and utilize multi-planar reformatting techniques to create new slice positions. While this approach provides accurate images, it only covers the slice positioning part of the MRI scanning process, which is a small and usually easier aspect of scanning.
Ultimately, image bank simulators offer a limited learning experience that may negatively impact students’ learning and ultimately patient care, particularly when it comes to understanding trade-offs and practicing running the scanner.
True MRI simulators
The other software MRI simulator is the kind that dynamically generates new images from scratch – using the same MR physics process as a real scanner.
This is the ideal kind of simulator. It will offer an unlimited breadth of scenarios, and it will capture even the smallest changes in detail as you fine-tune the parameters to find the ideal protocol for the given situation.
However, there is only one True MRI simulator that is readily available for usage in training and education, that simulator is Corsmed (there are true MRI simulators available for research, which generally requires knowledge in MRI physics, coding, and hosting ones own simulation hardware).
What’s more, the interface on the Corsmed simulator is built in the same way as a real scanner. It has the same image viewers for planning and review, the same pulse sequence section, and the same section for parameters and trade-offs indicators.
If your college adopts the Corsmed simulator for your MRI program – then yes, we can safely say that your students’ experience will be the same as if they practiced on a real scanner.
3. How can an MRI simulator personalize, deepen and broaden the experience students get?
With the Corsmed MRI simulator it is possible to personalize content for a specific college or group of students based on guidelines from the societies’ guidelines (ARRT, ARMRIT, CAMRT/ACTRM, etc.) or the curriculum the college is following.
It is possible to build up the practical experience from scratch related to hardware (field strength, gradient strength and coils), sequences, image optimization, artifacts and clinical applications (neuro, spine, MSK, body, cardiac)
Generally, humans best learn how a complex system works by pushing it to its breaking point. MRI technologists best learn how an MRI scanner works by pushing the parameters to their extremes. We only learn what is just right, by testing and experiencing what is too much. However, pushing a real scanner to its extremes is not feasible. This is where a software simulator helps. A simulator creates a safe environment where students can experiment freely without fear of accidentally breaking something or putting the patient in an unsafe situation.
A simulator also allows students to vary and customize their practice much more, as they can simulate different patient symptoms rather than waiting for a real patient with those symptoms to come in. This has three key benefits.
An MRI simulator allows students to:?
4. How can an MRI simulator speed up students’ learning?
There are two ways that an MRI simulator enables students to learn more in less time.
1. Students can immediately implement newly-learned theory in practice to solidify their learning
Most MRI programs consist of theoretical learning in the classroom, which is sometimes followed with practical training at a real clinic.
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However, this means that many days or weeks pass between when students first learn a new concept, and when they get to implement that concept in practice. This results in ineffective learning.
Students’ brains get overloaded with a lot of theory upfront, much of which may not make sense until they see how the concepts work in practice. And if students have not been able to solidify their understanding of the early concepts, all subsequent MRI concepts will rest on a weaker foundation.
With an MRI simulator, students can immediately implement their newly learned theory in practice. Once a new concept has been covered in class, they can start experimenting with it on the MRI simulator. Students can:
The result is not only that students learn faster, but they also learn more accurately and retain their learning for longer.
2. Students get faster feedback, and thus improve faster
Even if your classroom had a real MRI scanner, students would not learn as fast as with a simulator. Why? Because a real scanner needs 15-60 minutes to complete a protocol and produce images. But for students who seek to improve their skill at choosing the right parameters, this is needless waiting time.
On a software simulator, the wait time is a few seconds to minutes. This immediate feedback allows students to practice on many more scans in the same amount of time. What’s more, every student will have their own simulator on their laptop, rather than competing for time on a single scanner. The result is a faster and more effective learning curve, and the immediate feedback also makes practice more engaging for students.
5. How can an MRI simulator differentiate our MRI program from competing colleges?
As of January 2024, there are more than 115 MRI education programs[1] offered in the U.S. and Canada. However, only around 25 of those programs have integrated a software MRI simulator as part of their education.
However, this is beginning to change. More and more colleges are now recognizing the power of MRI simulators and are integrating them into their programs.
MRI education is now undergoing the same transformation as flight academies experienced during the 20th century. When flight simulators were first introduced in the 1930s to 1950s, they were rare novelties. Nowadays, however, simulators are the mainstream way that nearly all flight academies use to train new pilots – because simulators provide far superior learning than pure theory, but at a fraction of the cost compared to using real airplanes. [2]
By adopting Corsmed now, you will be on the right side of this oncoming wave in MRI education. And while the majority of colleges are still catching up to this change, your college will have an open window where you can offer students a superior educational experience that they can’t get at most other MRI programs.
That window, however, is not going to last forever. The sooner your college adopts an MRI simulator as part of your program, the longer you will be able to enjoy that differentiated advantage.
6. What do educators who use MRI simulators say about it?
The best way to learn a new skill is to spend a lot of time practicing it. Especially in MRI, you need hands-on practice to learn:
All these can influence image quality and patient outcomes.
High Desert Medical College utilizes Corsmed technology as part of their training program. The Corsmed MRI Simulator can simulate everything that happens within the MRI scanner. It offers state-of-the-art educational modules that complement students’ training by providing:
“By integrating with Corsmed, we are offering exceptional training for our students alongside advanced hands-on technologies. High Desert Medical College’s MRI program allows students to learn real-world experiences, with the help of Corsmed. We are proud to partner with the leading MRI simulator for education, training, and research.” Says Ragheb Milad, MD, MBBCh, Chief Academic Officer, at Legacy Education
7. How can an MRI simulator support technologists at the job?
MRI simulators are not only used in colleges and universities.
One clinical institution who used Corsmed’s MRI simulator to train new MRI technologists is the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.
The simulator was used in a pilot program of a new, 5-day training course the Christie Trust had developed to upskill beginner MR radiographers. The new course combined traditional classroom teaching with extensive use of the Corsmed simulator to give students a more interactive experience. The goal of the pilot was to answer the question: “Is this new course effective at teaching novice MRI radiographers?”
The pilot ran across 5 days in October 2023. Each day covered more complex topics, while also giving students more autonomy in how to use the simulator, allowing them to make increasingly independent decisions about the sequences and parameters.
To test the learning effectiveness of the course, students were asked to rate how well they understood various MRI concepts on a scale of 1-5 (where 1 is Poor and 5 is Excellent). At the end of the 5 days, students rated their understanding of the same concepts again.
The pilot was found to improve the students’ combined average score from a low 2.1 to a high 3.9, an 85.6% increase in just 5 days.
Students were also very pleased with the Corsmed simulator, and many credited it for their increased understanding of MRI. They gave the simulator an average score of 4.7/5.0. Three examples of student interaction with the course and Corsmed simulators are presented below.
After the successful results of the pilot, the Christie Trust now intends to update and deliver future iterations of the course in 2024 across more imaging centers.
Read the full NHS Christie pilot report here.
Summary
The number of MRI education programs in North America is already high, and is only expected to increase as more MRI technologists must be educated in the coming years.
However, with this rising demand, MRI programs face an increased burden to prepare students for the real world of scanning – and to differentiate themselves from all other programs to attract the best and brightest students.
A software MRI simulator can be a helpful tool to achieve both of these aims.
Software MRI simulators enable students to:
Because of the enhanced learning software MRI simulators offer students, simulators will likely become the default tool that all MRI education programs must embrace. Just like nearly every flight academy today has integrated a flight simulator into their training of pilots, so will MRI programs need to integrate MRI simulators as part of their training of MRI technologists.
Until the need for MRI simulators becomes obvious to the majority, though, the colleges who ride the wave early will enjoy many years where they can offer a differentiated learning experience – and attract the best and brightest students to choose them.
A simulator, however, must be able to replicate the real-world experience to be an adequate learning tool. Static image-library simulators are thus not suitable, as their limited library of images can only reproduce a limited reality of MRI.
As of January 2024, Corsmed is the only software MRI simulator that dynamically generates MRI images from scratch – using the same MRI physics processes as a real scanner. This allows students who use Corsmed to get the exact same real-world experience as with a real scanner.
If your college or university is interested in adopting Corsmed to enhance your students learning, reach out to [email protected].
[1] Data USA. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technician - Overview. https://datausa.io/profile/cip/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri-technician
[2] “Flight simulator". Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Jan. 2024.? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_simulator