I’ve recently added a couple more short entries on top of my initial 4-post series on radiology setups/hardware, ergonomics, and productivity.
For convenience, here are the articles:
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1. The Best Radiology Setup/Workstation Equipment
Here’s what I have idiosyncratically landed on as a stable happy set-up that balances efficiency and comfort (and an editorial selection of those favored by others).
Life is too short to use what comes with your computer.
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2. How I Use the Contour Shuttle for Radiology
This post could have been titled: Why and How to Use an Offhand Device for Radiology, Or maybe even: How to Make the Most of All Those Extra Buttons on Your Gaming Mouse or Similar Device
More buttons! Better scrolling! Save your wrist! Feel like a PACS ninja!
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AutoHotkey is powerful free software you can use to control your computer and generate simple (or complex) macros to automate tedious or repetitive tasks.
Achieve frictionless hands-free dictation (and more!)
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4. Making the Most of PowerScribe
PowerScribe is ubiquitous in radiology practices across the country, and it’s the only dictation software I use in my job. It has many flaws, but there are plenty of things we can do to make the most of it…Here are some tips for making PowerScribe (360) suck less.
Don’t be a passive victim of bad corporate software.
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For the use-with-your-hands part, here are some quick contexts and a single choice for each that you can implement wherever you work:
Quick highlights: Optimizing is a worthy investment of time/energy/money.
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6. Using the Zelotes C18 for Radiology
The Zelotes is the cheapest vertical mouse that doesn’t suck, and it has enough buttons that it’s useful for everyday PACS functionality no matter where you work.
How to think about mice for radiology with a special focus on a very inexpensive “vertical mouse” (along with some alternatives).
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Feel free to bookmark this post, because I’ll also add any follow-ups here.
4 Comments
sincere thanks for these posts, has motivated me to get rid of the powermic and loving it so far. The shuttle pro config software is a bit quirky but getting the hang of it. So far haven’t found convenient use of the shuttlepro wheel. The macroworks x-keys software is a lot easier to program and I’m liking that device better (I had one around already). A cheaper but similar programmable keypad device like those linked in the post may function just as well but it comes down to the software. Luckily so far my hospital workstation seems to allow install of programs without admin priv…
Currently troubleshooting figuring out the macro to get autohotkey to launch the pet ct thin client. The shortcut is right there on the desktop but damn if I can’t figure out the right scripting language to get it to launch
Thanks again
The wheel is only useful for scrolling in my experience. The inner wheel is analogous to the scrolling wheel of a mouse, and the outer rim is useful for autoscrolling at various speeds (particularly high-resolution high-slice-count studies like CTAs). I personally scroll more with my left hand now.
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. If all one wants is a bunch of buttons to control diction and be more efficient, one of the keypads with onboard memory will be better probably.
For the AHK software control, using WindowSpy to figure out the exact name of the application is critical.
yeah initial experience trying to use the outer wheel for CTs and 3d MG was just awkward. Maybe if I get it dialed in I’ll like it but didn’t find it near as good as just power scrolling with wheel click then move mouse
I’ll have to try windowspy for app launch.
One thing I’ve notice and maybe just me but powerscribe seems to respond way faster to AHK for tab to next field / previous field compared to same default function with powermic and of course compared to voice command , where if you’re dictating fast words end up in the wrong field. With AHK barely have to slow down