Readme.txt

ASTONIX PROJECT VOL 1.0 ECG INTERPRETATION

Program written by Dr Martin Balzan MD MRCP UK
Senior Registrar in Medicine, St. Luke's hospital, Malta.

AIM. This program was written for educational purposes, 
attempting to provide revision of 30 ECGs. 
It uses a simple question and answer format. 
Multimedia presentation, has been used to enhance the visual attraction on the images.
These questions are aimed primarily at clinical year MEDICAL STUDENTS.
However, junior doctors and non-cardiac specialists may also find the program useful. 
Intensive care, coronary care, cardiothoracic, 
and emergency room nurses and paramedical personnel can also benefit,
but they might find some of the questions a bit difficult.
CONTENT
The questions cover a wide variety of cardiac problems. 
A realistic clinical setting was chosen as much as possible. 
Treatment alternatives are provided in the answers.  
Great care, has been taken to make sure, 
that the academic content of the questions is valid, 
and the questions have been peer reviewed by 
a number of senior doctors and cardiologists. 
For this I must acknowledge the help of Dr O Aquilina, 
senior registrar in cardiology at St. Luke's Hospital.
However, the treatment recommendations in the answers, 
reflect the author's opinion, 
and more detailed information should be sought in 
relevant text books and medical journals. 
This program is not intended as a reference, but rather as a learning tool.
Please refer any queeries to mvbalzan@synapse.net.mt
further imformation on server www.synapse.net.mt
Freeware
This program is distrubuted free of charge, 
and can be distributed free of charge. 
However it may not be sold or resold, 
distributed as part of any commercial package, 
used in a commercial environment, 
used or distributed in support of a commercial service, 
or used or distributed to support any form of profit-generating activity.
This program is provided "as is", 
without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, 
including but not limited to the implied warranties of 
merchantibility and fitness for a particular purpose.  
In no event shall, Dr Martin Balzan be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, 
or indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, 
even if martin balzan is advised of such damages.
Hardware requirements
486 33Mhz processor or better ( pentium 75Mhz or better recommended)
8 Mbytes RAM (16 Mbytes recommended)
Video card 640x420, 16 bit colour (will run on 256 colours, 
however the quality of the image deteriorates); 
if higher modes are available, 
use the 640x420, 16 bit colour, 
as any higher resolution will only serve to make the image smaller, and the speed slower.
Sound card (optional, program will work, in abscence of a sound card)

Win 3.1 (use 16bit version, however this may be slow, images may take up to 30secs to load)
or
Win 95 (recommended, however use the 32 bit version which is much faster)
Installation
Both 16 bit, or 32 bit versions are provided as zip files.
Unzip to any folder(directory).
To run, execute file, aston.exe, or make appopriate icon
Warning
If the sound card is not properly installed to play .mid, or .wav files, 
the program may crash. However if the music button is kept in "off" position, 
the program will still work.