TEE on CD: An Interactive Resource .

Abstract

Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. dzvara@ wfubmc.eduTEE on CD: An Interactive Resource . By Steven Konstadt, Naven C. Nanda. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001. Price: $225.00.TEE on CD: An Interactive Resource is an excellent edition for anyone's computer library on echocardiography. This interactive CD contains the textbook Atlas of Transesophageal Echocardiography , by Naven C. Nanda and Michael J. Domanski, and the textbook Transesophageal Echocardiography: A Problem-Based Approach , by Yasu Oka and Steven Konstadt. The interactive CD is edited by Drs. Konstadt and Nanda. The full text of both of these textbooks is incorporated into the CD, plus 30 min of transesophageal echocardiography videos, over 100 multiple choice questions with answers and explanations, and hyperlinks to relevant text, illustrations, and videos. In addition to the over 800 text pages, there are over 2,500 images and 60 videos. There is no doubt that this interactive CD brings the power of information science directly to the desktop for the user's benefit.The CD was remarkably easy to install on my IBM 300PL desktop computer. The system requirements are Windows 95, 98, or NT with a Pentium 133 MHz or higher processor, 32 MB of RAM, and 10 MB of free hard disk space. Macintosh users must have a power PC or G3 with system 7.6.1 or higher, 32 MB of RAM, and 10 MB of free hard disk space. Given the system requirements, the program runs quite easily and is extremely fast. On the startup screen, one can choose either textbook with a click of a button. The chapters are nicely outlined, and word searches can be performed easily. Hyperlinked text is incorporated into each chapter, allowing easy access to figures, tables, and references.One of the stronger components of this program is the video library and the self-assessment quiz window. In the video library, one can view multiple images of common and rare myocardial pathology. The self-assessment is particularly helpful for those preparing for the transesophageal echocardiography examination.As with any computer-based program, some of the images are difficult to see. For some of the images, I had to turn out the lights in my office to bring about a clearer picture to fully appreciate the pathology presented. The majority of the images, however, were quite clear and were easily visualized. There is a printing capability with the images, so that one may make a hardcopy of any particular image. However, the program is designed so that copying an image digitally to the clipboard is impossible.In summary, I was extremely pleased with TEE on CD: An Interactive Resource . The cost is $225, which is rather steep for a medical textbook, but one must consider that the purchaser is receiving more than simple text. There are, in fact, two text self-assessment programs, a video library, and Web links to transesophageal echocardiography-related subjects. This is a good buy for those serious about maintaining a complete echocardiography library. Information can be readily obtained in a quick and easy manner. I hope that other authors will take a moment to evaluate this CD textbook. The power of this educational tool far exceeds that of a standard textbook. I hope that there will be many more textbooks to follow in a similar style.