Radiologists

1. Software Solutions for
Radiologists to Increase
Academic Productivity
Iain D. C. Kirkpatrick, MD

2. Author affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Manitoba,
Room O2055, St Boniface General Hospital, 409 Tache Avenue,
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2H 2A6
Address correspondence to:
I.D.C.K. (email: ctmriguy@gmail.com)
Disclosures of Conflicts of Interest.—I.D.C.K. Activities related to the present article:
disclosed no relevant relationships. Activities not related to the present article:
honorarium and travel expenses paid by Siemens Healthineers for lectures to CT
technologists at the annual Canadian Siemens Innovations Symposium meetings. Other
activities: disclosed no relevant relationships.

3. Introduction
This presentation reviews several
software services and
applications (or apps) that can be
used to increase the productivity
of any academic radiologist or
trainee.
We will explore:
• Cloud storage
• Text expansion
• To-do lists and task
management
• Note taking and the paperless
office
• Managing journal articles and
references
• Password management

4. Learning Objectives
• Describe how to effectively use cloud storage.
• Recognize how text expansion applications can save time.
• Identify ways in which task management applications can optimize one’s
schedule.
• Understand the benefits of using note-taking applications and the paperless
office.
• Learn about software options for reading, organizing, and citing journal
articles.
• Become familiar with password management applications and their features.

5. Personal Health Information
While some of the applications and cloud storage services
described in this presentation use encryption and are secure,
none of them are appropriate for storing the personal health
information of patients.
One should also be cautious about putting any similarly
sensitive personal data onto an off-site computer.

7. Cloud Storage
Cloud storage refers to the storage
of files on an off-site computer that
can be accessed by any
smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Useful things that can be stored “in
the cloud”:
• Work and call schedules
• Reference articles
• Instruction manuals (eg, three-
dimensional [3D] workstation
applications)
• CT and/or MRI protocols
• Shared documents
(manuscripts) that can be
edited by anyone with access
Cloud Storage

8. Comparison of Major Cloud Storage Services
Cloud Storage Service Pros Cons
Dropbox (Dropbox)
Seamless syncing;
works well with any OS
Smallest company, uncertain future
OneDrive (Microsoft)
Seamless integration with Windows
(Microsoft);
1 TB free with Microsoft 365 (Microsoft;
formerly Office 365)
Not as ubiquitous as Dropbox for sharing
Google Drive (Google)
Seamless integration with Android
(Google);
15 GB free storage space
Fewer features than other services
Apple iCloud (Apple)
Seamless integration with macOS and
iOS (Apple)
Integrates poorly with Windows
If you use Microsoft 365, OneDrive is the best option as 1 TB of storage comes
bundled with an Office 365 subscription.
Do not store personal health information on any cloud storage service.
Cloud Storage
Note.—OS = operating system.

9. Example: Schedule
received in email on
phone
Tap to
open.
Tap to
send.
Once uploaded,
you can see the
schedule on any of
your devices in
your cloud app.

10. Examples of
useful things
that can be
stored in the
cloud for
access
anywhere or
anytime:
Instructions for 3D
postprocessing
Department
protocols
Meeting minutes
and notes
Cloud Storage

11. On a desktop computer, most cloud storage services can integrate with your file system in
Windows and macOS. The folders look like they are on your local computer but continuously
synchronize (sync) across all of your devices.
Cloud Storage

12. Cloud Services and Collaboration
• All of the services provided allow individuals to grant file
access to other individuals in order to collaborate.
• A journal manuscript could be placed in the cloud and shared
with co-authors, all of whom can edit it with changes marked
for each author.
• Some services also allow online real-time messaging.
• Academic institutions often have rules regarding which service
may be allowed on workplace computing devices. Consult
your IT department if you plan on using these services on
devices you do not own personally.
Cloud Storage
Note.—IT = information technology.

14. Text Expansion
• Some text expansion apps include TextExpander (SmileOnMyMac),
AutoHotkey (AutoHotKey Foundation), Keyboard Maestro
(Stairways Software), Google Keyboard (Google), and iOS Text
Replacement (Apple).
• These apps allow you to use key phrases (macros) that when typed
will expand into much longer blocks of text (snippets of text). The
app watches for when you type a macro.
• This is useful when you find yourself repeatedly typing similar
blocks of text.
• Meeting minutes, form letters, contact information
Text Expansion

15. TextExpander
• Available for Windows, macOS,
iOS
• Snippets are synced across
devices
• You create blocks of text and
assign other text triggers that
insert them into your document.
• It is best to choose triggers that
you would never type by accident.
• To select a trigger, I pick a word I
will remember and take the first
three letters of the word, doubling
the first letter.
Text Expansion

16. Examples of Snippets: Meeting Minutes
ccal (call to order) = The meeting was called to order at _____h.
mmin (minutes motion) = It was moved by Dr. _____ and seconded by
Dr. _____ that the minutes be accepted as circulated. All in favor.
CARRIED.
mmot (motion made) = It was moved by Dr. _____ and seconded by Dr.
_____ that _____. All in favor. CARRIED.
aadj (adjournment) = The meeting was adjourned at _____h.
ddat (date) = automatically fills in today’s date.
ttim (time) = automatically fills in the current time.
( _____ = you fill in the blank when you use the snippet )
Text Expansion

17. What Else Can You Use
Text Expansion For?
• Form letters
• Contact information
• Sentences or phrases that you use frequently
• Email addresses that you type frequently
• Long institutional names or titles
• Web site URLs
• Speaker biography
Text Expansion

18. TextExpander: Example on Desktop
Click on image to play
the video.
On a laptop or desktop,
TextExpander works in
any other application
(mail, text messaging,
word processing, etc).
Text Expansion

19. On iOS, some applications
directly support
TextExpander. For the
others, there is a
dedicated TextExpander
keyboard that lets you use
your snippets anywhere.
TextExpander will also
give suggestions for
snippets based on what
you type most frequently.
Click on
the images
to play the
videos.
Text Expansion

20. Text Expansion Applications
Application Free or Paid Operating System
Google Keyboard Free (included with Android) Android
iOS Text Replacement Free (included with iOS) iOS
AutoHotkey Free Windows
Keyboard Maestro Paid macOS
TextExpander Paid Windows, macOS, iOS
Text Expansion

22. Keeping Track of Tasks
• Many people mark to-dos on their calendar, but this is not a
good system.
• If you pass the date you have entered without completing the
task, you will not receive any further reminders.
• An ideal application will keep your tasks front and center until
they are dealt with.
• These can be divided into more basic to-do list applications
and full-featured task management software.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

23. To-Do List Applications
• Many applications are available, and several are free.
• eg, Apple Reminders (Apple), Google Tasks (Google),
Wunderlist/Microsoft To Do (Microsoft)
• These offer persistent lists of your tasks requiring completion,
often with areas for notes or even attachments.
• You can set due dates and tick a box when the task is done to
remove it from the list.
• We will look at Wunderlist as an example.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

24. Wunderlist
Windows, macOS,
iOS, Android
Free
Simply type a task into
this box and hit “return”
to add a task.
Tap the box when a task
is completed, and it is
removed from your list.
Tap into a task to add
notes, set a due date, or
add an attachment (eg,
reference article).
You receive
notifications when
tasks are due.
Soon to be re-
branded as
Microsoft To-Do

25. Full-featured Task Management
• These applications offer many
more features and customization
but are more complex.
• They are particularly good for the
radiologist with multiple research
projects on the go.
• OmniFocus (Omni Group), Things
(Cultured Code), Todoist (Doist)
are some task management
applications.
• Many applications are based on
the Getting Things Done (GTD)
system.
OmniFocus
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

26. You receive an email, note, call, and/or
message with a potential task.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers
Getting Things Done
• The GTD system is based on a
book by David Allen.1
• It is a systematic way to deal
with tasks that ensures you do
not worry about missing a
deadline or forgetting to do
something.
• By keeping track of everything
in an application, your brain is
less stressed.
1Allen D. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stree-Free Productivity. New York, NY:
Penguin Books, 2015.
Let’s see how it works:

27. Task
Is it
something
you can act
on?
Trash or keep for
reference
Process it—
is it a large
project?
Plan a project with a task
manager (eg, research)
Will it take
< 5
minutes?
Do it now
Delegate it
Defer it
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
or
A GTD Workflow for
Radiology
Using a task manager
ensures that you
receive reminders for
any projects or
deferred tasks.

28. These applications can
be used like to-do lists.
Tasks have due dates
and you will get
reminders.
Let’s look at
OmniFocus.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

29. To-Do Lists and Task Managers
• Tasks can be viewed in a
number of different ways.
• Here, we are viewing
upcoming tasks by due
date, which can help
prioritize your time.

30. Tap on the circle to mark a task as
completed.
These are tags that you label tasks with.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

31. To-Do Lists and Task Managers
• Tags can identify the specific tools
you need to complete a task, a
specific location (eg, at the office) to
perform the task, or the state of
mind needed to perform the task
(high vs low energy).
• If you have 10 minutes before a
dental appointment, you could select
a short task that you can do on your
phone.
• If you are tired at the end of a long
day, you could select a low-energy
task that does not require a lot of
deep thought.
• The Tag View in OmniFocus (shown
here) helps you select the best tasks
to perform at any given time.

32. If an email contains
a task, these apps
provide you with a
unique email
address you can
forward to that will
add the task to
your task inbox.

33. The next time you check OmniFocus on any of your devices, that email will be
there as a new task.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

34. To-Do Lists and Task Managers
• In 30 seconds you can add a
Title…
• …create some Tags (in this
case, we can complete this
task with either a laptop or
a tablet, and we have noted
that it is a radiology-related
task)…
• …and set a Due date.

35. When it is time to perform the
task, the attachments you need
are right there for you in the
app.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

36. It is possible to create elaborate multi-step projects (eg, for research) with subtasks that have
their own tags, notes, and due dates.
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

37. To-Do Lists and Task Management
Application Free or Paid Operating System
Apple Reminders Free (included with iOS) iOS, macOS
Google Tasks Free (included with Android) Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Wunderlist/Microsoft To Do Free Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Things Paid iOS, macOS
Todoist Paid Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
OmniFocus Paid iOS, macOS (native apps)
Android, Windows (web app)
To-Do Lists and Task Managers

39. Notes Applications
• Basic note-taking applications
are excellent for jotting down
memos or taking notes at a
meeting or conference.
• Every tablet and smartphone
generally comes with a free
note-taking application that is
adequate for this purpose.
• eg, Apple Notes (Apple), Google
Keep (Google)
Most have
stylus
support.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

40. Agenda
Note Taking and the Paperless Office
• Agenda (Momenta B.V.) is a
notes application optimized for
people who have many
meetings.
• Notes are created that are tied
to specific dates and times in
your calendar. They can contain
all the files you need for the
meeting (eg, past minutes,
meeting agenda, and
supporting documents).

41. Calendar events are
linked to notes and vice
versa.
When your calendar alerts you that it is time for
a meeting, you can tap the link in Agenda to
open the note with the supporting documents
and be ready for the meeting immediately.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

42. Drafts
• Note-taking app for macOS and iOS
• Integrated TextExpander support!
• Drafts (Agile Tortoise) supports writing
in Markdown, which is a shorthand
syntax that formats your notes on
export so they look clean and
professional.
• https://daringfireball.net/projects/
markdown/
• Notes can be turned into emails or
texts, saved to the cloud, or sent to
another program (eg, Evernote
[Evernote]) for archiving.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

43. In this case, we will export to another program
called Evernote to archive the note.
Symbols like “#” (heading), “-” (bullet point), and “**”
(bold) are examples of Markdown formatting.
The final converted
product in Evernote
looks professional
and easy to read.

44. Evernote
• It looks like any other notes
application, but it is the most
powerful and searchable
archive tool for notes,
Microsoft 365 documents, and
PDFs available.
• Works across every platform.
• You decide which notes sync
versus which stay on one device
(if it contains sensitive data).
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

45. Evernote
• Evernote does not just store text.
• Each note can hold almost any type
of file.
• PDFs (universal viewable documents)
display inside notes.
• You can sort your notes into
“notebooks,” and by doing this
Evernote can become a virtual filing
cabinet to store all of your important
documents.
• Let’s look at some sample notebooks.
Example: After
every business trip,
all receipts can be
scanned and stored
in a note. These can
be bulk exported as
an email if required
for reimbursement.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

46. Sync your list with the
whole family.
Drop your evaluations in Evernote. When it comes time to
apply for promotion, everything is organized and ready.
All of your CME certificates in one place.
Never misplace a license again!

47. Example: An unknown credit card charge is
identified instantly by searching for the
amount.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office
• Robust search feature
allows you to search titles
and content within
documents—find anything
in seconds!
• Searching inside documents
and using Evernote on
more than two devices
requires an annual
subscription.

48. The Paperless Office: Hardware
• Digitize all your documents
and save them to
Evernote.
• For small-volume scanning,
use the Scannable
(Evernote) app (free).
• For scanning a large
number of pages, use the
ScanSnap iX500 (Fujitsu)
scanner.
Click the images
to play the
videos. Scannable app
(iOS/Android)
ScanSnap iX500: Demonstration
of the speed of double-sided
scanning direct to Evernote.
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

49. Note-Taking Applications
Application Free or Paid Operating System
Google Keep Free (included with Android) Android
Apple Notes Free (included with iOS,
macOS)
iOS, macOS
Agenda Free (fee for premium features) iOS, macOS
Drafts Free (fee for premium features) iOS, macOS
Evernote Free (fee for premium features) Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Note Taking and the Paperless Office

51. Reading PDFs: LiquidText
• LiquidText (LiquidText) is an
iPad application with
innovative features:
• Easy to highlight or break
out text to save in notes
• Apple Pencil (Apple)
support
• Ability to compress the
article to compare sections
Managing Journal Articles

52. Example: The
unique features
offered by
LiquidText are
useful for reading
journal articles.
Click on the
image to play the
video.
Managing Journal Articles

53. Reference Managers
• Reference managers collect and
organize journal articles.
• Most university faculty will be
able to pull articles for free by
institutional proxy.
• Articles sync across devices, so
you can access your library
anywhere.
• These apps can manage the
references in your manuscripts
and generate your bibliography.
•Papers (ReadCube)
•Zotero (Corporation for
Digital Scholarship)
•EndNote (Clarivate
Analytics)
•Mendeley (Elsevier)
Managing Journal Articles

54. Select your
institution
and log in
with your
university
library
password.
You may then
search for
articles within
the app, as
seen here in
the Readcube
Papers
example,
which can be
downloaded
for free if your
institution
has a
subscription.
Managing Journal Articles

55. Articles
can be
sorted
into
folders,
and your
library
can be
searched.
Articles
can be
rated and
labeled
with
keywords.
The more modern applications (Zotaro, Readcube Papers [as shown
above]) have an “iTunes-for-journal-articles” feel to them.
Managing Journal Articles

56. Articles expand
to fill the screen
when you wish
to read them.
Highlighting and
notetaking are
possible.
Phone and tablet versions are available, and these programs are multiplatform.
These apps
make sharing
articles with
students easy.
Managing Journal Articles

57. Example: Using reference managers to write a manuscript.
Click on the image to play the video.
Reference managers
come with plug-in
applications for major
word processors that
simplify adding
references and creating
a bibliography.
Managing Journal Articles
Click on
the image
to play the
video.

58. Article Reading and Reference
Management Applications
Application Free or Paid Operating System
LiquidText Free (fee for premium features) iOS; Windows and macOS
coming in 2020
ReadCube Papers Paid Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Zotero Free Windows, macOS
EndNote Paid Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Mendeley Free (fee for premium features) Android, Windows, macOS, iOS
Managing Journal Articles

60. • Many people make the mistake of using the same password for
multiple accounts.
• If that password is stolen or hacked, all of your information becomes
vulnerable, but a busy radiologist can only remember so many
passwords.
• Password managers generate and store encrypted random passwords
for every account individually that are nearly impossible to guess.
• There are built-in free password management tools within the iOS
(iCloud Keychain; Apple) and Android (Google Password; Google)
systems, but functionality is limited.
Password Managers
Password Management

61. Password Managers
• These applications can quickly
generate random passwords
that are stored and synced
across all platforms and
devices.
• If a company is hacked, only
that one account becomes
compromised and not also your
banking information!
• All you need to remember is
one master password.
•1Password (1Password)
•LastPass (LogMeIn)
•Dashlane (Dashlane)
Password Management

62. 1Password will
automatically
generate a random
password that is
nearly impossible
to guess for any
login you create.
When you are on
a web site and
need to login, you
select the
“Passwords”
option to open
1Password.
Your username
and password
are automatically
entered into the
appropriate
boxes.

63. Password Management Applications
Application Free or Paid Operating System
iCloud Keychain Free iOS, macOS
Google Password Free Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
(web apps)
1Password Paid Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
LastPass Free (fee for premium features) Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Dashlane Free (fee for premium features) Android, Windows, macOS, iOS
Password Management

65. Suggested Readings
Allen D. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New
York, NY: Penguin Books, 2015.
Dotson R, Orchard R. Build your OmniFocus workflow. Vienna, Austria:
Self published, 2018. https://omnifocusbook.com/home/. Accessed
December 31, 2019.
Sparks D. Paperless: A MacSparky Field Guide. Orange County, CA: Self
published, 2014. https://www.macsparky.com/paperless. Accessed
December 31, 2019.

66. Applications and Services Referenced
Cloud Services
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com
OneDrive: https://onedrive.live.com
Google Drive: https://www.google.com/drive
iCloud: https://www.icloud.com
Text Expansion
TextExpander: https://textexpander.com
AutoHotkey: https://autohotkey.com
Keyboard Maestro: https://keyboardmaestro.com
To-Do Lists and Task Managers
Wunderlist: https://wunderlist.com
Microsoft To Do: https://todo.Microsoft.com/tasks
Todoist: https://www.todoist.com
Things: https://culturedcode.com
OmniFocus: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus
Note Taking
Agenda: https://agenda.com
Drafts: https://getdrafts.com
Evernote: https://evernote.com
Scannable: https://evernote.com/products/scannable
Fujitsu Scanners:
https://www.fujitsu.com/us/products/computing/peripheral/scanners
Journal Article Reading and Reference Management
LiquidText: https://www.liquidtext.net
ReadCube Papers: https://www.papersapp.com
Zotero: https://www.Zotero.org
EndNote: https://endnote.com
Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com
Password Management
1Password: https://1password.com
LastPass: https://www.lastpass.com
Dashlane: https://www.dashlane.com