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World J Methodol. Jul 20, 2021; 11(4): 208-221
Published online Jul 20, 2021. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v11.i4.208
One-day seminar for residents for implementing abdominal pocket-sized ultrasound
Hiroko Naganuma, Hideaki Ishida
Hiroko Naganuma, Department of Gastroenterology, Yokote Municipal Hospital, Yokote 0138602, Akita, Japan
Hideaki Ishida, Department of Gastroenterology, Akita Red Cross Hospital, Akita-City 010-1495, Japan
Author contributions: Naganuma H and Ishida H collected the data and wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hiroko Naganuma, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, Yokote Municipal Hospital, 5-31 Negishi-cho, Yokote 0138602, Akita, Japan. hiron@vesta.ocn.ne.jp
Received: February 27, 2021
Peer-review started: February 27, 2021
First decision: March 31, 2021
Revised: April 10, 2021
Accepted: June 1, 2021
Article in press: June 1, 2021
Published online: July 20, 2021
Processing time: 141 Days and 21.9 Hours
Abstract

Despite its proven high utility, integration of pocked-sized portable ultrasound (US) into internal medicine residency training remains inconsistent. For 10 years, we have held a 1-d seminar biannually, consisting of lecture (half-day) and hands-on training (half-day) on pocket-sized US of the abdomen and lungs. The lecture consists of training on US physics and clinical applications of pocket-sized US, followed by a lecture covering the basic anatomy of the abdomen and lungs and introducing the systemic scanning method. Given the simple structure of pocket-sized US devices, understanding the basic physics is sufficient yet necessary to operate the pocket-sized US device. It is important to understand the selection of probes, adjustment of B mode gain, adjustment of color gain, and acoustic impedance. Basic comprehension may have a significant positive impact on the overall utilization of pocket-sized US devices. The easiest and most reliable way to observe the whole abdomen and lungs is a combination of transverse, sagittal, and oblique scanning, pursuing the main vascular system from the center to the periphery of the organ in the abdomen and systemic scanning of the pleura. There is usually a marked change in knowledge and attitudes among the program participants, although skill gaps remain among them. We discuss the limitations and problems to this education system as well.

Keywords: Pocket-sized ultrasound; Abdomen; Lung; Medical education; Resident; Ultrasound physics

Core Tip: Despite its high utility, there is no standardized method to integrate pocked-sized ultrasound (US) into daily clinical settings. We present here our 1-d seminar for residents that consists of lecture and hands-on training on pocket-sized US. The lecture consists of training on US physics and clinical applications of pocket-sized US, covering basic anatomy, and introducing the systemic scanning method. Understanding of some basic physics is necessary to operate the pocket-sized US device. Although the residents’ skill gaps remain, the seminar yields a marked change in knowledge and attitude towards pocket-sized US.