This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a scholarly reply Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cooper, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Cooper, R. M.

CD-ROM Review

Toronto, Ontario

Review of SimBioSys ECG(The Fundamentals of 12-Lead Interpretation and Rhythm Recognition)

This is another computer-assisted instructional tool from Critical Concepts (www.critcon.com). The program begins much like a conventional text, indicating the intended audience for each segment and quizzing the user's understanding of its content. The text begins with a review of the components of the ECG complex but progresses to a fairly sophisticated interpretation of rhythms, conduction abnormalities, ischemia, and hypertrophy. The user can view simple embedded animations, progress through cases known or unknown, use a caliper tool to determine intervals, zoom in or out of tracings or switch from a diagnostic 12-lead to a rhythm strip. Alternatively, one can attempt to write a report on an unknown 12-lead cardiogram using the programme's recommended six-stage analytic approach, comparing one's interpretation with the "correct report". The user's report is instantly marked and hotlinks are provided to assist in areas where discrepancies occurred. Finally, there is a "Rhythm Racer" which provides random dynamic rhythms, testing how quickly and accurately these are identified.

The content was excellent, and while not intended for a cardiologist, provides adequate depth for most clinicians, including critical care and cardiac anesthesiologists. It allows the user to acquire the specific information at one's own pace. The quizzes provide an opportunity to check that the material completed or bypassed is indeed understood. The program was intuitive and sufficiently engrossing that this reviewer spent more time than intended and repeatedly tried to improve his "Rhythm Racer" score. The Rhythm Racer, while fun, provides unrealistic tracings that become quickly recognized. This program provides a more entertaining, and probably more profitable method of acquiring ECG interpretation skills than a conventional text. Where was it when I needed it?

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a scholarly reply Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cooper, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Cooper, R. M.