This methodological approach to assessing obesity is based on the prepilot work conducted on a small sample of men and women (25-58 years of age) in a laboratory setting. The use of skinfold calipers, body mass index, and sonographic imaging of adipose and visceral fat were obtained. In this pre-experimental work, the rigorous use of sonographic measures of visceral fat demonstrated better trend results than the other measurement tools. The sonographic methods employed were modeled after the work published by Hamagawa et al. All measurements were taken five times, and only the middle three were retained for mean data points. The data are compared and contrasted with a paucity of international studies using sonography to measure visceral adiposity. It is important to determine whether sonography could serve as a non-ionizing imaging technique for the assessment of body composition and a screening technique for cardiovascular disease prediction.

Purpose: Evaluate obstetrics and gynecology (OB/Gyn) residents’ current obstetric sonography knowledge, confidence, and psychomotor skills to provide clinical preceptors with a greater understanding of how to approach teaching sonography to residents. Methods: Ten OB/Gyn residents were assessed on their sonographic performance by measuring psychomotor skills and evaluating diagnostic accuracy of images. At the conclusion of the assessment, residents received feedback and completed a survey to establish their current confidence level in performing and interpreting sonograms. Results: Motion analysis revealed excessive transducer movements made by the residents when acquiring images, particularly in terms of angular movement. The median score on the assessment template was 33 out of 66 points (interquartile range, 26.75–42.5), where residents had difficulty acquiring all required criteria for first-trimester dating and biometry views/measurements, determining fetal situs, and identifying landmarks to ensure intended anatomy is visualized. Conclusions: Absence of formalized sonography training creates a need for clinical preceptors to teach basic anatomy/landmarks, transducer movements, and criteria for dating and biometry views/measurements. This poses a challenge for preceptors at high-volume sites; thus, high-fidelity simulation could be part of a solution. Simulation can provide residents with the opportunity to develop basic sonography skills outside of clinical, then refine and build upon those skills with preceptors.

Sonographers have been the focus of documenting work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The literature has focused on self-reported survey data, which point to more than 80% of sonographers performing their jobs in pain. However, few intervention studies have been designed to address these risks. A pre-post pre-experimental design was employed, and longitudinal data were collected from a cohort of first-year sonography students (n = 12). Three groups of participants (n = 4 each) were exposed to a combination of ergonomics education and mind-body techniques. Analysis of survey data did not demonstrate statistically significant changes across any of the groups. However, participants who specifically practiced mindful sonography yoga and cueing indicated an improvement in mental health, stress level, and right upper extremity pain. Posture was improved with biofeedback training, while participants who used both biofeedback training and mindful sonography yoga and cueing demonstrated even greater improvement in posture.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate how a high-fidelity computer-based sonography simulator (FCBSS) can be used in training obstetrics and gynecology residents and evaluate efficacy of high-fidelity CBSS in enhancing resident’s sonographic knowledge, psychomotor skills, and level of confidence in performing sonographic fetal assessments. Materials and Methods: Eleven postgraduate year 1 residents (PGY1s) and ten PGY2s were assessed on sonographic performance by measuring psychomotor skills and evaluating the accuracy of the sonographic images. PGY2s received traditional sonography training while PGY1s received three individualized training sessions on a high-fidelity CBSS. At the conclusion, all residents received feedback and completed a survey to establish their current confidence level in performing and interpreting sonograms. Results: PGY2s scored a median of 33/66 points on the assessment, while PGY1s scored a median of 64/66 points. Statistical analysis performed from motion analysis metrics between cohorts revealed a statistically significant difference, with PGY1s demonstrating higher psychomotor skills. Interquartile ranges of PGY1s’ scores were smaller than PGY2s’, revealing consistency in knowledge and skills among the PGY1 cohort. Conclusion: Findings suggests that high-fidelity CBSS can be used effectively in training residents. It also demonstrates that implementation of formalized sonography training, using a high-fidelity CBSS, can be achieved and potentially expedite and enhance the learning of novice learners.

Approximately 200 million people worldwide have osteoporosis, a disease that contributes to about 9 million fragility fractures every year. 1 This accounts for $20 billion in health care costs in the United States alone. 2 Most bones are composed of two main compartments: the trabecular bone, known as spongy bone, and the cortical bone, which is a compact bone that forms the outer shell around the trabecular bone. With age, skeletal fragility becomes more prevalent as some individuals experience bone loss and microstructural deterioration in both the trabecular and cortical compartments. This increase in fragility, with an increased risk of falling, causes persons of advanced age to be more susceptible to bone fractures. 2 Fracture risk grows exponentially with the presence of bone disease, such as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and by changes in the microstructure of the bones, thus resulting in a decrease in bone strength and an increased risk for fractures. 2 This issue will continue to escalate as life expectancy increases and the aging population grows, resulting in an even greater economic burden in health care costs. 3 Clinically, areal BMD obtained by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry has been the gold standard in determining bone strength for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. 2 Yet, <50% of the changes that affect whole-bone strength are directly caused by variations in BMD. 4,5 According to criteria of the World Health Organization, osteoporosis is determined if the areal BMD value obtained is ≥2.5 SD below the young adult reference mean (T score ≤ −2.5 SD). 6 However, multiple studies revealed that fragility fractures occur in patients with T scores > −2.5. 4,5,7 A prospective study consisting of 7806 participants aged >55 years found that 56% and 79% of fractures that occurred in women and men, respectively, had T scores between −1.0 and −2.5. 5 Nonetheless, merely lowering the T-score threshold is not a solution. Bringing the T-score threshold closer to zero will also decrease the threshold value for 754045J DMXXX10.