I recently discovered a fun and casual iOS game great for anyone interested in radiology… that just might improve your ability to read x-rays. And I’ll share my thoughts on it with you now.

Gaming

To be honest, I’m not much of a gamer. When I was a kid, I wasn’t even allowed to have a Nintendo®, at least not until my older brother gave us his original NES as a hand-me-down gift years later. I’ve dabbled in computer games like Myst® and Call of Duty® - but they’re either so incredibly difficult that I get no pleasure from them, or so addictive that I have to ban myself from playing them. And I couldn’t use a console controller if my life depended on it.

I prefer casual games that don’t take a lot of commitment. Something I can dip in and out of when I need a brief distraction. Games like Lemmings, Tower Defense, or Hellcats were some of my past favorites.

I was recently setting up an AppleTV in my garage gym and I started browsing for any new apps when I came across .projekt.

.projekt - a game about silhouettes

.projekt is a new minimalistic puzzle from a developer based in Ukraine. In his own words, “It requires you to look at things differently. It is a relaxing experience. There are no ads, no high-scores and no time pressure.”

I always was excited by geometry lessons at school and in university. But not all people were as excited as I was. So I created a game called .projekt to share my passion for spatial awareness with others. - Kyrylo Kuzyk, Developer

When you launch the game, you’re presented with a grid and two walls. The goal is to build a 3D shape to match the shadows on the walls by dropping cubes in the correct places on the grid.

The first few chapters are a brief tutorial with simple shapes. Each chapter progresses in difficulty, challenging your spatial cognition.

Spatial Cognition

I’m sure you’ve seen this image of two shadows projected on adjacent walls. One appears to be a square, the other, a circle. The “true” object is then revealed to be a cylinder, which projects both shadows, but from different perspectives.¹

The illustration is used to emphasize the importance of two views in radiology, and highlights how our brains can be tricked when looking at a 2D image that represents a 3D object.

I like this more accurate version from chiropractic radiologist Matt Skalski. ↩︎

The original version of this meme offends the radiologist in me, so I used my 3D skills to remake it entirely. Please steal and post anywhere and everywhere you find the original stupid one. pic.twitter.com/drfEQU317P
— Matt Skalski (@docskalski) March 9, 2019

This concept is known as spatial cognition or ability and is described as the capacity to understand, reason, and remember the spatial relations among objects or space.

A good deal of research has been done on spatial cognition, showing that men tend to be more adept than women,¹ and that it is an important ability for success in science, technology, engineering, and math. Subsets of this skill - spatial visualization and mental rotation - are particularly useful in radiology, and at least one author has argued that it should be considered as a prerequisite for applicants to radiology training programs.²

Hegarty M. Ability and sex differences in spatial thinking: What does the mental rotation test really measure? Psychon Bull Rev. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review; 2017 Aug 10;25(3):1–8. ↩︎
Birchall D. Spatial ability in radiologists: a necessary prerequisite? Br J Radiol. 2015 May;88(1049):20140511. ↩︎

The game

.projekt challenges your spatial visualization by projecting shadows from a 3D object onto a 2D surface and then requiring you to recreate that 3D object. Once you get past the tutorial chapters, the difficulty quickly increases with more complex shapes, overlapping shadows, and blocks that have to be removed to solve the puzzle. You can easily rotate the view with a swipe of the finger and add or remove blocks with a tap or hold.

AR mode

To make it even more interesting, the game includes augmented reality. Just tap on this icon to project the current chapter onto a nearby surface like a coffee table. Now you can move around the grid and play as if it were in front of you. To be honest, AR feels more like a gimmick to play with for a while, but I prefer to just play on the phone.

Dark mode

And for those radiologists at heart who can’t stand the bright white interface… there is a dark mode. Now you can play comfortably in the moody ambiance of a darkroom.

What I like

.projekt is a simple game that I can play for a few minutes with a cup of coffee, when I need a break, or when my kids finally take their nap. It doesn’t take a lot of coordination, but is a fun geometrical challenge.

What I don’t like

On the phone, it can sometimes be difficult to target the right square for the block. I’m sure this is easier on larger devices and on the desktop, but it does get a little annoying to have to remove blocks when they land in the wrong spot.

Can a game make you a better radiologist?

Maybe?

While .projekt hasn’t been studied, researchers have shown that various aspects of spatial cognition - including mental rotation - can be improved with training¹.

But, the skills may not transfer to similar tasks. While playing .projekt is a great way to relax with a challenging game for a few minutes, don’t rely on it to help you pass your diagnostic imaging exams.

The game is available for $2.99 on iOS, and $1.99 on Android and can be played on Mac and Windows via Steam.

1. Meneghetti C, Carbone E, Di Maggio A, Toffalini E, Borella E. Mental rotation training in older adults: The role of practice and strategy. Psychol Aging. 2018 Aug;33(5):814–31.
2. Moen KC, Beck MR, Saltzmann SM, Cowan TM, Burleigh LM, Butler LG, et al. Strengthening spatial reasoning: elucidating the attentional and neural mechanisms associated with mental rotation skill development. Cogn Research. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications; 2020 May 1;5(1):1–23.
3. Meneghetti C, Cardillo R, Mammarella IC, Caviola S, Borella E. The role of practice and strategy in mental rotation training: transfer and maintenance effects. Psychological Research. 2nd ed. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2016 Feb 9;81(2):1–17. 4. Meneghetti C, Borella E, Pazzaglia F. Mental rotation training: transfer and maintenance effects on spatial abilities. Psychological Research. 2015 Jan 10;80(1):113–27.

What about you?

What are your favorite video games related to chiropractic, or otherwise? As always, leave a comment if this was helpful or to tell me what you’d like to see more of.