Introduction: As part of the BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography programme students learn and undertake research relevant to their development as first post radiographers (dose optimisation and image quality) within the Research-Informed Teaching experience (RiTe). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery of RiTe to our year 2 students was moved to an online format using Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Collaborate and focused on a key area of current practice -COVID-19 and chest X-ray imaging. Within RiTe students are placed into collaborative enquiry-based learning (CEBL) groups to share tasks, but to also support and learn from one another. Methods: An online survey was used to explore the year 2 student cohort task value and self-efficacy of this online version of RiTe. Results: A 73% (32/44) response rate was achieved. Students found the online version of RiTe to be a positive learning and development experience. There was strong agreement that they not only found it relevant to their area of practice (task-value), but also strongly agreed that they understood and could master the skills taught (self-efficacy). Conclusion: This online version of RiTe was effectively structured to help scaffold student learning and development of research data analysis skills despite the lack of face-to-face teaching. The students also valued the topic area (COVID-19 and chest X-ray imaging). A blended learning approach with RiTe will be used next year with a combination of collaborative online teaching and physical data collection and analysis in the university-based X-ray imaging laboratory. Further evaluation and data collection will also be undertaken. Implications for practice: University-based empirical work in groups to learn about research can be replaced by an online mechanism whilst still maintaining task-value and acceptable self-efficacy.
Objectives: Current guidelines highlight the need to optimize exposure parameters on CBCT equipment to levels that are as low as diagnostically acceptable. This systematic review aimed to answer the question "Can altering operating potential (kV) and tube current exposure time product (mAs) on CBCT machines reduce radiation dose to patients undergoing dental and/ or maxillofacial scans without a detrimental impact on image quality/diagnostic accuracy?" Methods: Studies were selected and results reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. For each individual study, two authors (RG and JD or KH) independently extracted data using a specifically designed collection form, and an overall quality value was assigned using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Any disagreements in the overall quality value of a study were resolved by discussion between the current authors. Results: Nearly 75% of studies were considered to be of low or very low methodological quality using the GRADE system, and more studies stated that their results applied only in the specific situations they had investigated. However, most studies demonstrated that patient dose reduction is possible without a clinically relevant reduction in image quality. Conclusions: For many CBCT machines, it should be possible to optimize one, or more, of the investigated exposure parameters and therefore reduce patient radiation dose, while maintaining diagnostic image quality for some diagnostic tasks. However, more rigorous research is still required.
Introduction and backgroundBreast compression force during screening mammography requires a degree of practitioner knowledge and expertise to achieve optimum image quality and reduce the mean glandular radiation dose.1, 2 Whilst it is recognised that the application of compression force is an Whilst quantitative approaches give valuable data, a humanistic, qualitative, perspective is also required in order to fully understand this phenomenon in depth and to provide a unique insight in to the factors influencing how compression force is applied.Using a phenomenological approach this study investigated the experiences of, and the influences on the behaviour of, practitioners applying compression force in mammography. By exploring the individual and collective beliefs and values that influence compression force practice this paper seeks to identify 'how' and 'why' practitioners practice as they do.
MethodologyQualitative research is an overall term for a group of approaches that is concerned with the investigation of experiences and behaviour, and the meanings and interpretations that people attach to these 12 . It is therefore an exploration of the natural setting; in this case the breast screening units in this study. An ethnographic approach of observing practice was initially considered but this was rejected as being too intrusive for the clients and potentially a contentious ethical issue. It was however recognised that by seeking the practitioners own
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.