Adding to the growth in multimedia-based medical training, publisher Andromeda Interactive Ltd has launched the Cardiovascular System Series, an interactive CD-ROM tutorial for medical students. Meanwhile the Marshall University School of Medicine is offering an interactive medical education tool, on the Internet, for workers to sharpen their clinical skills. The Interactive Patient from the Huntington, West Virginia-based university is a teaching programme that enables doctors and medical students to simulate a consultation over the World Wide Web. The student is faced with a specific medical complaint that has to be diagnosed and is encouraged to interact with the patient by asking questions about his history; carrying out an examination and ordering further tests and X-rays if considered necessary. The user submits a diagnosis and intended treatment, which are evaluated, and feedback is provided within about a minute. The only current case is a 31-year old male with side, back and groin problems. The university has said it hopes to have a paediatric case shortly. The system serves a large rural population, and the idea is to enable remote students to study more easily. It has already been accepted by the CME accrediting board as an acceptable credit to a medical qualification. The system hasn’t been overloaded with attempts from non-students as yet, receiving about 200 to 300 hits a day and around 25 diagnoses. The service can be found at http://musom.marshall.edu. Abingdon, Oxfordshire-based Andromeda said its product is aimed at the pre-clinical medical student and enables her to monitor learning with tutorials and self-assessment in line with international medical syllabi. It can also be linked to auditorium screens for tutors to use in teaching. The first module covers the anatomy of the heart and also features an electronic notepad for getting information into a student’s course notes. It also contains a colour medical atlas of anatomical clinical images. The series will feature future CD-ROMs on the physiology of the heart, the cardiovascular network and adult and paediatric cardiovascular disorders and treatments. It is being produced from input of a panel of cardiovascular specialists, and it is available for both Macintosh and Windows.
