Publications by authors named "D G Merkel"

  Sonography training has become an important part of university medicine courses. This study explores the impact of digital and analog teaching resources on learning outcomes, knowledge retention, and student preferences and motivation in a flipped classroom setting.   This prospective controlled study involving two groups of third-year medical students included a voluntary three-day compact ultrasound course given in a flipped classroom, comprising 26 teaching units of 45 minutes each.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed nine different handheld ultrasound (HHUS) devices to compare their performance in terms of B-scan quality, handling, and software features during abdominal imaging.
  • Vscan Air and SonoEye Chison received the highest ratings, with significant differences from the other devices, particularly in B-scan quality and software usability.
  • The findings highlight the varying performance among HHUS devices, providing insights to help clinicians choose the right device based on specific clinical needs.
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Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is steadily growing in use in prehospital emergency medicine. While currently used primarily by emergency physicians, POCUS could also be employed by paramedics to support diagnosis and decision-making. Yet to date, no paramedicine-targeted POCUS curricula exist in Germany.

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Introduction/aim: Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies.

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Prior to the curative resection of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the exclusion of hepatic metastasis using cross-sectional imaging is mandatory. The Doppler perfusion index (DPI) of the liver is a promising method for detecting occult liver metastases, but the underlying visceral duplex sonography is critically viewed in terms of its reproducibility. The aim of this study was to investigate systematically the reproducibility of the measured variables, the calculated blood flow, and the DPI.

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