Finally, someone tries to make a virtual x-ray machine for students to practice with.Great concept but poor execution. I'm no software engineer, but this program has many flaws. It's meant to be used at colleges so it's waaaaaaaaay expensive. Secondly it's from the UK, so all the measurements, including cassette size & SID is in centimeters (so not helpful!).
Thirdly, it's easier to operate a real life machine than it is this computer simulation. Instead of a point and click situation, it's toggled by letter keys. Personally I think it's a detriment to studying rather than an an aid. But, if you'd like to check it out for yourself, there's a free 15 day trial on the site. (Warning: Time Consuming Download)
Here's the link: http://www.shaderware.com/
Once you're in the site, look for the "Try & Buy" link. It takes you to a page where you can download the program. There's also a very important student version of the instructions on this page (PDF file).
Who knows, maybe you'll find it more helpful than I did.
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1 comment:
Hi Gamma Kitty,
I am really pleased you have tried our software - projectionVR and also that you agree with us that the ability to simulate radiography is a good idea. I'm not sure that 'many flaws' is quite fair, but I absolutely admit it isn't perfect!
This is extremely technical programing, not the sort of thing that can be written overnight. You should also warn your readers that they need a pretty powerful graphics card on their machine to run it. This sort of technology doesn't come cheap I'm afraid. It isn't really intended for students to buy for themselves. At last count over 30 US colleges have bought the software for their students, so it might be free if you are studying at one of these colleges...
The download is big because it contains data from 1,700 CT scan slices - we have recently used a more sophisticated compression method and made it slightly smaller. We have also split it into smaller chunks because it was annoying when it failed half way through!
I take your point about the metric sizes - We could alter that if there was a huge demand to do so, but it is also pretty easy to convert (when I was studying we had to know both because I am that old!)
It is easier to use a real x-ray machine, I totally agree! Unfortunately, students can't just x-ray patients for practice due to concerns over radiation dose! The software also allows some neat applications that would be impossible with a real machine, like the 'fluoroscopy' features in LectureVR and the heating/cooling simulations and x-ray spectra in TechnicVR.
Keep up the blog, it's an excellent idea. I wish you well with your studies.
Philip Cosson
philip.cosson@shaderware.com
Clinical Director
Shaderware Ltd
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