Key Takeaways
The Challenge
NAIT had to bridge the gap between textbook theory and clinical practice across two MRI programs, while ensuring every student gains confidence and competency before entering high-pressure clinical environments.
The Solution
Integrate the Corsmed MRI Simulator throughout NAIT’s curriculum to give students hands-on practice where they can adjust parameters, create artifacts safely, and build real scanning proficiency before working with patients.
How Implemented
Students receive Corsmed access from week one and use it in supervised labs and independent home practice. The simulator is embedded in didactic courses, pre-clinical preparation, and ongoing clinical support, covering everything from routine brain scans to advanced cardiac imaging.
Key Results Achieved
- Bridged the theory–practice gap: Students see immediate consequences of parameter changes and arrive at clinical sites significantly better prepared.
- Graduates ready to scan from Day One: Clinical partners report dramatic improvements in preparedness, with NAIT graduates impressing employers with strong technical competency.
- 100% employment and near-perfect exam pass rates: All graduates secure jobs immediately, with national certification pass rates reaching near-perfect levels.
Most Loved Features
- Real image generation: New images are created from actual parameter inputs, so students see the true consequences of their choices.
- 24/7 unlimited access: Students practice anytime at home, reinforcing clinical learning and preparing for upcoming scans.
- Outstanding customer support: Instructors receive rapid responses and see requested features implemented quickly.
Final Verdict
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"Corsmed has been a game changer.
Since we've had it, our techs are 10 times better when they graduate from NAIT. The students are coming out after using Corsmed and clinical partners are finding it very beneficial."
“It’s Been a Game Changer” – How NAIT Transformed MRI Training with Corsmed
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"Before Corsmed, there was a steep gap between didactic and clinical. Students learned the theory but couldn't apply it until months later."
This was the challenge facing Brianne Forest, Program Leader at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
They had tried other simulators. But those didn't work.
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"We previously had another simulator, but the images were all stock images. Students could learn where the buttons are, but wouldn't see the impact of angling wrong or increasing slice thickness.
The images always looked perfect, so students weren't actually learning."
Then NAIT discovered Corsmed.
Thanks to implementing Corsmed, NAIT has been able to:
- Bridge the Theory-Practice Gap Through Visual Learning
- Prepare Confident, Competent Graduates Who Impress Employers
- Achieve 100% Employment and Near-Perfect Exam Pass Rates
1. Bridge the Theory-Practice Gap Through Visual Learning
For MRI educators, one of the biggest challenges is helping students connect abstract physics concepts to real-world scanning.
NAIT Clinical Coordinator Sara Schroffel explains the transformation Corsmed enabled:
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"Students learn the physics concepts in class with instructors. Then they apply those concepts with Corsmed labs and can visualize what they’ve been learning.
That ability to simulate what they'll do in the real world has been hugely beneficial."
From Abstract Concepts to Visible Results
Unlike traditional teaching methods or older simulators, Corsmed shows students the actual consequences of their choices in real-time.
Sara continues:
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"With Corsmed, students can instantly see the consequences of their actions.
If they angle too much, they can understand why they can't see the corpus callosum properly. If they angle it differently, they understand why that works better. That's what was really missing before."
MRI Instructor Ayman Darwish adds:
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"Before Corsmed, there was a big gap between didactic and clinical. Once we implemented Corsmed, that gap was bridged.
Now students learn and apply MRI concepts in a safe lab environment before entering the higher-stakes clinical setting."
What NAIT's Students Say About Bridging Theory and Practice
Naomi Hall, a 1st discipline student, describes her experience:
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"You can't learn these skills from a textbook. By week two, we were already using Corsmed. I thought, 'Wow, this is what it's actually like.
Transitioning from Corsmed to a real scanner was way easier than going from a textbook to a scanner."
For students like Aman Sandhu, who describes herself as "very hands-on and visual," the simulator makes complex concepts finally click:
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"With Corsmed, I can play with parameters and see how one affects the other. It helped me understand trade-offs between SNR, resolution, and scan time."
Jennifer Simpson, a student who transitioned to MRI after careers in business and animal health, describes how Corsmed connected classroom learning to clinical reality:
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"Corsmed bridges the gap between theory and real-life patient exams. I could make changes, see the images that came up, and find the differences and artifacts."
A Safe Playground for Experimentation
Perhaps most importantly, Corsmed gives students a risk-free environment to experiment and make mistakes before working with real patients.
Program Leader Brianne Forest explains:
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"With previous simulators, students couldn't get accurate images when they changed parameters.
We'd say, 'Okay, imagine if you angled it like this.' But we're not in the business of playing pretend. We want them prepared for clinical.
Corsmed lets them actually do it and see the results."
Students can explore boldly, knowing their experiments won't harm anyone or waste expensive scanner time.
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"You can tell me all day what an artifact is. But to actually make the error intentionally and see the outcome without affecting a patient is amazing.”
2. Prepare Confident, Competent Graduates Who Impress Employers
Does all this practice with Corsmed actually translate to better performance in clinical settings?
The answer from NAIT's clinical partners is overwhelmingly “yes”.
Program Leader Brianne Forest shares:
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"We hear from students and from clinical partners who have noticed a significant difference.
Students show up already comfortable with the scanning workflow, and clinical partners are impressed with how prepared they are."
Students Enter Clinical Settings Already Knowing How to Scan
Brianne Forest shares:
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"Students get Corsmed in week one and start practicing parameters before they even fully understand the concepts.
By the time they reach clinical, they're comfortable with the scanning workflow."
Jennifer Simpson describes how she used Corsmed throughout clinical training:
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"Anytime during clinical when I wasn't feeling confident about a scan, I would go home and practice that protocol over and over on Corsmed.
The next day, I could perform it confidently on real patients."
Practice with Rare and Complex Cases
One of Corsmed's most valuable features is giving students exposure to scans they might rarely see in clinical practice.
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"Sometimes, if a student doesn't see cardiac imaging or TMJ imaging during clinical, we can supplement that experience with Corsmed simulation labs.
The ability for them to have hands-on practice with all of the less common exams is phenomenal."
Ayman adds:
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"Students can use Corsmed for advanced scans before clinical.
This creates amazing opportunities to learn about cardiac, contrast, and pathologies through advanced scans they won't see much even after completing a 15-week clinical placement."
Student Jennifer Simpson found this particularly valuable:
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"I only saw an MRCP scan once or twice during clinical, but I could practice it multiple times on Corsmed."
Building Problem-Solvers, Not Button-Pushers
Perhaps most importantly, NAIT uses Corsmed to develop students who truly understand MRI, not just memorize protocols.
Brianne emphasizes:
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"Students can experiment and see how changing parameters impacts the image and truly understand and apply what they're learning from textbooks and class."
Sara shares:
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"We do a full workflow simulation at the end of the second semester. Students talk to radiologists, screen patients, position them in our mock scanner, and then scan with Corsmed.
We couldn't do it without Corsmed."
3. Achieve 100% Employment and Near-Perfect Exam Pass Rates
Brianne Forest shares the impressive outcomes they have achieved:
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"We have 100% employment rate and 100% pass rate in most years on the national certification exam."
These aren't just statistics. They represent real students launching successful careers.
How Corsmed Supports Exam Success
NAIT's success on certification exams is partly attributed to how Corsmed helps students master the material.
Ayman explains:
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Canadian education standards require students to demonstrate competency across all MRI protocols.
Corsmed helps students practice these protocols repeatedly until they feel confident, which directly impacts exam performance."
Students also use the simulator on their own to prepare for exams:
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"I had a competency test coming up and asked if I could access Corsmed to practice my angles. Just that one day of practice helped tremendously. It gave me the confidence I needed."
Students Become Sought After by Employers
The true measure is when employers recognize the skills of graduates, and they do:
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"Students show up to clinical comfortable with scanning workflow. Clinical supervisors often tell us how impressed they are with the skills of our students.”
How NAIT Maximizes Corsmed's Impact
NAIT has seamlessly integrated Corsmed throughout its curriculum in several ways:
1. Integrated from Week One
Unlike programs that introduce simulation late in training, NAIT gives students immediate access:
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"Students get access to Corsmed in their first week of the program. They start using it to practice changing parameters and really learn what that means from the very beginning.
They learn in a really authentic and integrated way from the start."
2. Both Supervised and Independent Practice
Students use Corsmed in multiple contexts:
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"Students work through modules and labs on their own, then practice with instructors in class, then apply that at our external clinical partner."
Sara adds:
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"In class, some students scan with Corsmed while others position the patient on our mock scanner. This hands-on practice brings everything together before they start clinical."
3. Support Throughout Clinical Training
Access doesn't stop when students enter clinical placements:
- 1st discipline students get access for the full year, through both didactic semesters and their first clinical semester.
- 2nd discipline students get access during their last didactic semester, through their clinical semester, plus four months of entry-to-practice.
Why Corsmed? Comparing to Previous Solutions
What convinced NAIT to choose Corsmed over other simulators they'd tried?
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"Corsmed actually does what you’d expect. If I lower the bandwidth, I expect to see chemical shift and less noise – and it does!
I haven’t seen any other simulator so true-to-life.”
1. True-to-Life Images, Not Approximations
The realistic image behavior was the main difference:
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"With our previous simulator, the images were never correct. When students angled wrongly, no wrap artifacts. When they increased the slice thickness, no partial volume.
With Corsmed, you get every image effect and artifact exactly as you would on a real scanner.”
2. 24/7 Access vs Limited Lab Time
Accessibility was another major factor:
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"Our previous simulator wasn't online, so we had to be physically at NAIT with actual laptops. If you have 20 students and three laptops, nobody gets equal time."
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"Corsmed's unlimited 24/7 access and support is like night and day."
3. A True Partnership, Not Just a Vendor
What sets Corsmed apart isn't just the product; it's the relationship.
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"What I really appreciate is that you take our feedback. After using it for the first couple of years, we would ask, 'Can you make this box bigger? Can you make this less sensitive?' And you would make those changes for us, which is mind-blowing."
Ayman adds:
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"Cohorting students was something we asked for, and it was implemented.
Being able to organize students by cohort has been game-changing since we have multiple cohorts running simultaneously across two programs."
Brianne emphasizes the responsiveness:
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"The support and responsiveness from Corsmed has been amazing.
Not just with tech support, but with all the resources: the pre-made modules, lab documents, new pathologies, and patient motion features. Every update has been fantastic."
Student Success Stories: Real People, Real Impact
Behind the statistics are individual students whose lives have been transformed by quality MRI education.
Lyndon Smith: Career Change After Personal Loss
After losing his father, Lyndon changed careers from chef to MRI:
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"It caused me to reflect on how I wanted to spend my days. I decided I wanted to help people.
I liked the science and biology in MRI, and I love making an impact on someone's life every day."
Corsmed helped him develop the skills he needed:
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"It helped me bridge the gap between textbook learning and actually using the scanner.
We had labs with our teachers, and Corsmed allowed me to practice on my own at home, so I could come better prepared. You could see cause and effect rather than just the ideal situations in textbooks."
Naomi Hall: From Overwhelmed to Confident
Naomi was nervous about entering a complex technical field:
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"My first day, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, what am I doing? I haven't even had an MRI!' But using Corsmed to practice, it's been really cool to see how detailed MRI imaging is."
The hands-on practice built her confidence:
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"This semester, we're on a real scanner every week. Transitioning from Corsmed to a real scanner was way easier than from a textbook. The way you do field of view, rotating angles, it's all the same.
The skills really translated right over."
She emphasizes the progressive learning approach:
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"I love how you can start with training wheels and slowly take them off.
You practice normal routine scans at first, then add motion artifacts, then aliasing, then pathology. You slowly build up to what it would be realistically."
"It's Our Obvious Tool of Choice"
When asked about the overall impact of implementing Corsmed, the NAIT team speaks with one voice.
Clinical Coordinator Sara Schroffel says it directly:
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"Corsmed has been a game changer.
Since we've had it, our techs are 10 times better when they graduate. It's made a huge improvement."
Program Leader Brianne Forest emphasizes the transformation:
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"It has improved students' understanding tremendously. Before, students memorized concepts but couldn't truly understand them until clinical.
Now they have a solid understanding of didactics because they can visualize it. Playing with parameters and seeing how changes impact the image is a huge benefit."
NAIT's success demonstrates how the right simulation technology can transform MRI education.
For other MRI education programs looking to enhance their training, the message from NAIT is clear:
Corsmed doesn't just supplement traditional education; it revolutionizes it, creating confident graduates who can scan from Day One and deliver excellent patient care throughout their careers.
As Brianne Forest summarizes:
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"Since implementing Corsmed, students show up more prepared, learn faster, and perform better in clinical settings. Clinical partners notice the difference immediately.
It's our obvious tool of choice for MRI training."
Want to Transform Your MRI Training Program?
Get in touch with us today and discover how Corsmed can take your MRI education to the next level.
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