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Study Syllabus for Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses
Getting Started (Continued)
II. Practice Radiographs
Accurate classification of findings mandates careful review of digitally acquired DICOM images and their comparisons with the ILO Standard Reference Images. It is easier to study on a workstation with multiple monitors or a wide screen. You will likely have several windows or browser tabs open to toggle between the syllabus, sample radiographs, standards, and answer keys.
First select a medical image viewer to see the radiographs. NIOSH provides BViewer, which is a free radiograph viewer for Microsoft Windows. Unfortunately, BViewer is only compatible with Intel and Nvidia graphics adapters. NIOSH is working to make BViewer more compatible and will post a new version soon.
All exams at NIOSH use the 2022 ILO Standard Radiographs.
Instructions to Install the NIOSH BViewer and ILO Standards (Updated 11/20/2023)
You may also use other medical image viewers and open on two monitors:
- One monitor to view the syllabus
- The other monitor to view the standards
Below is a partial list of viewers that can be used.
- MicroDicom (Windows)
- Radiant Viewer (Windows)
- FViewer (free web-based viewer)
- Imaios (free web-based viewer)
- Horos Project (iOS)
Web-based viewers may not have enough memory to load all of the syllabus images at one time. NIOSH suggests only loading about 20 images at a time. You will also need the following downloads if you select another viewer.
- 2022 ILO Standards
- NIOSH B Reader Syllabus Radiographs (DICOM)
- NIOSH Chest Radiograph Classification form
A fillable PDF that you may save on your local device and/or print. - Answer Keys for Radiographs 20 to 83 (Updated 9/28/2023)
Radiographs 1 through 19 do not have answer keys. They are described in the syllabus.
III. Quiz
Subset 1 of the syllabus describes proper use of the Classification Form. A short quiz follows the syllabus. The quiz is designed to reinforce the important, preceding discussion. Expert feedback is provided to reinforce your learning.