Electrophoresis-tutor: an image-based personal computer program that teaches clinical interpretation of protein electrophoresis patterns of serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid.

High-resolution protein electrophoresis of serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can aid in the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, macroglobulinemia, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases. Electrophoresis-Tutor is a personal computer program based on approximately 150 digital images that teaches the clinical interpretation of agarose gel electrophoretic patterns. The program is divided into the following sections: introduction, CSF, serum, urine, review of disease states, program navigator, and final exam. The CSF section describes normal and abnormal CSF findings with emphasis on oligoclonal banding, as seen in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis. The serum section emphasizes monoclonal gammopathy patterns but also has detailed descriptions of inflammation, liver disease, protein-losing disorders, genetic deficiencies, and other patterns. Monoclonal gammopathy is described in the context of specific associated clinical conditions (e.g., myeloma, amyloidosis). For each monoclonal gammopathy example, results of standard electrophoresis, densitometry, and immunofixation are presented. The review of disease states uses animation to illustrate the development and remission of a variety of pathological patterns. The program navigator allows the user to jump quickly to any place in the program. The optional exam contains 20 questions, and detailed feedback is given after each question. Electrophoresis-Tutor can be used as a stand-alone teaching tool, a companion to traditional instruction, or a reference source.

BibleCard: network-based virtual database for laboratory information.

The clinical laboratory's use of computers has evolved beyond the single minicomputer stand-alone system. Our laboratory information system is now part of an institutional network. The laboratory also uses smaller systems and workstations for a wide variety of functions, often with much data duplication among systems. We have been developing a network-based virtual database for laboratory test information. This system uses World Wide Web standards for hypertext and multimedia displays, which allows for the display of information retrieved from various department computer sources without the necessity of data duplication, modification of existing systems, or centralization of data. The medical technologists can continue to write testing procedures on their word processors. Maintenance of reference values, specimen requirements, etc., can continue as a laboratory information system function. Yet information from all of these disparate sources can be viewed in a consolidated format that has platform independence.

[The teaching of primary health care: diagnostic and educational evaluation by microcomputers]. / O ensino de atenção primária à saúde: avaliação diagnóstica e formativa através de microcomputadores.

The study aims to explore the utilization of the Formative Evaluation by the microcomputer in the teaching of primary attention to the health. The experiment is composed of eight modules, programmed in Basic software "Formative Evaluation". For each module, a "Question Bank" with three sorts of feedbacks was organized. The sample includes 16 subjects. The results show that the Formative Evaluation by Microcomputer proportioned to the students a cognitive domain significantly higher than the traditional instruction. However, it didn't provide a significantly superior performance to the students who experienced this system.

Using computer graphics to map origin-destination data describing health care delivery systems.

An interactive graphic computer program, called FLOWMAP, is used to examine the referral patterns of cancer patients in western Washington between 1974 and 1978. FLOWMAP allows one to produce several types of maps from origin-destination data easily and inexpensively. Several maps show some of the significant geographic components of the referral of more than 7000 cancer patients among 13 counties over a 5-year period. It is shown that cancer care has become more decentralized during this period. Nine other possible applications of FLOWMAP to issues of concern regarding the delivery of health care are described. Maps produced by FLOWMAP can be expected to cost 1/30 to 1/50 of the cost of comparable manual methods. An Appendix gives some technical detail regarding the use of FLOWMAP and its data requirements.