First update course organized on a webinar by the West African College of Surgeons (Faculty of Radiology) during the COVID-19 pandemic and hosted by Ghana

Background: Teaching through virtual learning, such as webinars, has been found to be an effective medium in medical education, as well as many other professional training streams. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to experiment with new teaching and learning methods by utilizing technology that allows for virtual online learning and education. Most scientific medical activities have shifted to online formats, in the form of webinars, to maintain continuing medical education. We aimed to assess the acceptance of webinar for delivering an update course in accordance with the Faculty of Radiology’s curriculum. Methods: This prospective study reviewed responses from 166 radiology resident trainees, who took part in an update course organized by the Faculty of Radiology of the West African College of Surgeons on 8th - 9th July 2020 via webinar. Participants were invited to respond to a 23-item questionnaire designed using Google Forms. Data obtained were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc. Chicago, version 20). Results: From a total of 166 participants, males 88 (53.0%) constituted the majority. Majority of the respondents (95.2%) strongly agreed or agreed that the update course via webinar was really helpful and (99.4%) of the respondents indicated that the update course has enhanced their knowledge on the topics presented. Almost all the participants (94.6%) agreed to attend another update course on webinar, however, (5.4%) of the participants suggest they prefer a face-to face update course over an update course via webinar. Conclusion: Teaching in virtual mode (e.g. webinar) is a helpful technique for medical education, especially when social distancing is required. We found that the webinar was well-received and highly rated for educational objectives. Despite a few participants' stress and burden-related highlights, the majority of participants agreed that such a teaching mode would be beneficial.

Automated Detection of Pancreatic Cystic Lesions on CT Using Deep Learning

Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCL) are a frequent and underreported incidental finding on CT scans and can transform into neoplasms with devastating consequences. We developed and evaluated an algorithm based on a two-step nnU-Net architecture for automated detection of PCL on CTs. A total of 543 cysts on 221 abdominal CTs were manually segmented in 3D by a radiology resident in consensus with a board-certified radiologist specialized in abdominal radiology. This information was used to train a two-step nnU-Net for detection with the performance assessed depending on lesions’ volume and location in comparison to three human readers of varying experience. Mean sensitivity was 78.8 ± 0.1%. The sensitivity was highest for large lesions with 87.8% for cysts ≥220 mm3 and for lesions in the distal pancreas with up to 96.2%. The number of false-positive detections for cysts ≥220 mm3 was 0.1 per case. The algorithm’s performance was comparable to human readers. To conclude, automated detection of PCL on CTs is feasible. The proposed model could serve radiologists as a second reading tool. All imaging data and code used in this study are freely available online.

The Inter- and Intra-observer Reliability of Three Methods for Evaluating Carpal Collapse

Background: Kienbock’s disease is a rare and debilitating condition. The decision for surgical intervention majorly depends on the extent of the carpal collapse. Therefore, the accurate measurement of carpal collapse is of critical importance. Objectives: The current study assessed the inter and intra-observer reliability of the three most frequent methods in measuring carpal height and determining carpal collapse. Methods: Fifty-Nine photocopied radiograms were reviewed by three observers (one senior orthopedic resident, one fellowship-trained hand surgeon, and one senior radiology resident) at 3 consecutive time points. Besides, one-week intervals were considered between the evaluations. The evaluated measures included the Carpal Height Ratio (CHR), Revised Carpal Height Ratio (RCHR), and Capitate-Radius (CR) index. The reliability of the measurements in determining the carpal height was examined using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The agreement of the measures on determining the presence or absence of the carpal collapse was assessed by Cohen’s Kappa (K) value. Results: The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of the CR index in quantifying the carpal collapse was measured as 0.863 and 0.942, respectively. The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of CHR in quantifying the carpal collapse was computed to be 0.615 and 0.891, respectively. The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of RCHR in quantifying the carpal collapse equaled 0.412 and 0.792, respectively. The overall K for determining the presence or absence of a carpal collapse was calculated as 0.776, 0.683, and 0.549 for CR index, CHR, and RCHR, respectively. Conclusion: The CR index is the most reliable approach to measure carpal height. Furthermore, it is appropriate for determining the presence or absence of carpal collapse.