A series of interactive courses that allows radiologists to earn CMEs over the Internet is available from Stanford University in Stanford, CA.
The format of the eight courses online combines high-resolution graphics with audio from lectures by Stanford faculty. Dr. Gary Glazer, chairman of the radiology department, gave the first demonstration of the program at the RSNA meeting.
"We believe that online learning will revolutionize continuing medical education," he said. The first official release of the program will be in January and will cost $40 per lecture, but RSNA attendees can see free demonstrations.
Stanford officials said the program is not intended to replace its regular continuing education programs for radiologists, but will serve as a supplement. Moreover, the series will give clinicians around the world access to Stanford's faculty without the expense of traveling to the university.
Subjects covered in the first eight courses include advances in brain MR, imaging and endovascular techniques for aortic dissection, abdominal applications of power Doppler, and indications for breast ultrasound.
PC users with Real G2 Player can view courses by logging onto the university's radiology CME Web site. After the lecture, they take a multiple-choice quiz with immediate grading. When the user passes the quiz, Stanford will send a CME certificate via e-mail.
System requirements for PC users include a Pentium processor equipped with sound car and Windows 95, 98, or NT. Users also must have at least a 28.8KBps modem and a monitor with a minimum of 800 by 600 pixels and 16-bit color depth. A Macintosh version will be released next year, and Mac users must have a Power Macintosh with System 7.5 or higher.
