Radiology Spotters Collection

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Radiology Spotters (Quiz) Cases to Ace your Board Exams

What are Radiology Spotters?

TL;DR: Jump to the list of case sets.

In the Indian Radiology Board exams for MD and DNB (and in a few more countries), residents are shown a “typical” or “Aunt Minnie” radiology image of a particular pathology and they are supposed to diagnose the case in the stipulated time (usually a minute). A similar pattern is also used for the FRCR exam where these are termed as “rapids”.ย  The same format has different names in other countries. Here is an example of a radiology spotter case :

MRI of the brain showing CNS tuberculosis with spectroscopy
Radiology Spotter case – Tuberculosis

What are recommended books for radiology spotter cases?

Radiology Spotter Cases list

Each set has 10 Aunt-Minnie cases in a quiz format timed for one minute followed by answers and relevant discussion. Sign up here to access.

Free Radiology Spotter Case set [WITH Video Explaination]:ย 

Spotter Set 23 – Body Radiology Cases

General instructions, tips, and common mistakes while attempting radiology spotters cases:

  • Spotters are important components of the radiology practical exams and if you score well in spotters you have won half the battle.ย 
  • Although this is not the best way to evaluate the caliber of a student because when you will be reporting it will rarely happen that you will get these โ€œtypicalโ€ Aunt-Minnie cases. Plus no one would be standing with a gun to your head to diagnose cases in a minute. Read this excellent article by Dr. Ravi Ramakantan on this topic – Spot the spot! All said and done, thatโ€™s how our system is and you have no other option
  • All said and done spotters do help in learning radiology. Often you will be able to diagnose a particular case because you have seen it somewhere as a spotter.ย We have made a collection of radiology exam spotters. Browse through this radiology spotters list and revise it before your practical exams as well.
  • RadCasesย series has good section-wise radiology spotter books.
  • A tip on attempting radiology spotters cases is to stick to the first answer that strikes you. You will be right in most cases, provided you have studied well and attempted lots of spotters.
  • Each post has 10 radiology spotters cases.
  • Most of the spotters are straightforward.
  • Spotters slides will advance automatically at the end of a minute.
  • These are best viewed on a desktop, preferably in full-screen mode. On a mobile phone use it in the full-screen mode by clicking on the icon at the bottom right of the presentation and turn on auto-rotate!
  • Best way to attempt is to write down answers on a piece of paper and then check them at the end of the presentation.
  • Answer slides are at the end of each presentation and below the PowerPoint slides.
  • Attempt these as you would attempt in the final exam.
  • Few answers are accompanied by links to individual cases if you wish to read more about these.
  • Get into the practice of writingย COMPLETE answersย for all spotters so that you do not commit silly mistakes in the exam. For eg โ€œOsteosarcoma involving the right distal femurโ€ is a better answer than just writing โ€œosteosarcomaโ€.
  • DO NOT use abbreviations even during practice. I can understand that during practice it is cumbersome to write the complete diagnosis but you should attempt this at least as you approach your exams. This is important because your answer might be right but you will lose marks because you wrote the abbreviation. Also, we assume that we will be able to write the full form in the exams, but this is not always true. It hurts the most when you know the diagnosis and still get the answer wrong.

For eg. Check this case from Dr. Sanjay sir’s telegram group

Common mistakes in Radiology spotters on Sanjay Yadav telegram group
What is TAPVC?

All of the students got it right. I attempted to write the complete diagnosis and had to Google it (Total Anomalous Pulmonary Return/ circulation)!. In the above case, an even more accurate answer is Supracardiacย  Total Anomalous Pulmonary Return/ circulation. I know this is silly but I am sure that a lot of us will face this problem in the exams. Here are similar mistakes that I have committed while attempting spotters. FCD: Fibrous cortical DEFECT in bone; Fibrous cortical DYSPLASIA in the brain. GCT: GIANT Cell tumor in bone; GERM Cell tumor in the mediastinum.

Common mistakes in radiology spotters at Sanjay radiology exam going group
Common radiology spotter mistakes

In this case, all the students answered correctly as nephrocalcinosis, but the answer is partially right because there are two types of nephrocalcinosis, medullary and cortical. The ideal answer would have been bilateral medullary calcinosis. P.S. You SHOULD join Dr. Sanjay Sir’s telegram cases for daily spotter cases. Send him a personal message on Telegram: Sanjay P Yadav We also share cases on our radiology telegram group and radiology telegram channel

  • Utilize the entire one minute for each slide. Get it into this habit right from the start. No point in rushing into the diagnosis. You are not going to get extra marks for attempting a spotter in 30 seconds!
  • Make a note of all the cases you are not able to diagnose while solving cases. You can go through this list a few days before the exam while commuting. Google Keep is a good note keeping app as it integrates with your mail account.
  • These cases are also useful for preparing for the FRCR exam, North American radiology board exams and other competitive exams like the EdiR and RANZR.
  • If you have any suggestions/ corrections or wish to submit a case, you canย contact us.

More cases can be accessed on the following pages :

  1. Radiology Case of the Day Collection
  2. Radiology Cases: Detailed cases with discussion and high-yield points.
  3. RadioGyan YouTube Channel.

Also, read the following resources for exam going residents:

Tips and Tricks for DNB/MD Radiology Practical Exam

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