I come from India and I was also trained there. I am based in Oman at the moment. I have been working at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Hospital since 1998. I was introduced to the ultrasound in Oman and I have developed interest in obstetric ultrasound over time. I have two children aged 16 and 12-years-old. I like to travel and read.   Seerat solved 23 of 24 cases in the year 2009! This is an excellent result, congratulations! Gulser Bingol, Turkey 22 solved cases

I am from Turkey. I am married. I am working as an Ob/Gyn at the Sakarya Research and Education Hospital near Istanbul. I like my profession, my patients and I like to learn and study.I feel better myself about the fetal ultrasound since I followed TheFetus.net.   Gulser had 22 correct answers, she definitely should feel good about herself! Great job.   Albana Cerekja, Italy 21 solved cases

I am a gynecologist (not radiologist) but I perform almost exclusively ob -gyn ultrasound (I mean no surgery, no deliveries). I work in the ultrasound division of an outpatient department and in some private centers also. I love ultrasound. My hobbies: other than loosing myself in thefetus.net website looking for the correct diagnosis of the cow and exploring all previous articles and cases, I love learning foreign languages.I was born in Albania where I lived and studied until 25yrs old and I live in Rome (Italy) for 13 years, since 1997. I"m 37 years old and I have one daughter who is 10 years old. I promised her that this year I would be one of the top winners, so she could forgive me for all time I do not dedicate to her when I"m busy with my research....   Albana is a devoted website supporter and did send some very interesting cases to the TheFetus.net. Albana"s daughter should be proud of her Mum because she did excellent and answered 21 cases correct! Alexandra Piganova Ukraine 21 solved cases

I am 33 years old, and I am a doctor. My medical specialty is sonography. I perform general and obstetrics ultrasound examinations. I have a 3-year-experience in OB ultrasound. I was born in Ukraine, and I still live there. I have 2 sons - 4 and 7 years. My work, which I like very much, takes a lot of my time but I try to spend my free time with my family. I like to travel with my family very much (especially to the sea coast during the summer vacation).  My biggest hobby is TheFetus.net and Sonoworld. This is very interesting and useful hobby and I try to solve both OB and general COWS. I write poems, generally lyrical. I like to read too (especially "suspense books").   Alexandra had also 21 correct answers, it"s great thing that her job is her biggest hobby as well!   Javier Cortejoso, Spain 20 solved cases

I am a doctor and specialize in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In Spain, obstetric and gynecologic ultrasound is usually performed by Ob/Gyns, not by radiologists, so sometimes I have difficulty solving the case of the week when no ultrasound images appear (conventional radiology, CT, MR, etc). I work at a university hospital in the morning and I do prenatal diagnostic ultrasound in the afternoons in a private clinic. I live in Valladolid, a city of 350,000 inhabitants, capital of Castile and Leon in Spain. I am married to an ophthalmologist and have two children; the older daughter is now at West Virginia University (after completing her two degrees) and the younger son is studying engineering in my hometown, Valladolid.As for my hobbies, the little free time I have available, I spend with my family. I like to  listen to classical music (my favorites are all Baroque music, especially Bach, Mozart and Verdi) and work on the computer. I believe the there are many learning opportunities offered by the websites. I take many specialty courses through the internet and I am hooked to TheFetus.net (it"s my homepage on all my computers and I look at it as a source of clinical information to improve my clinical practice). Earlier this year I decided to guess the "Case of the week†to see how many got it right. I have not done bad at all. I consider it a sensational and entertaining way to learn, but I admit that I feel some anxiety when I am unable to answer. My main problem is English, but I know that Philippe is lenient with grammatical errors and all sorts.On vacation, I try to travel with my family. I love to get to know, as deeply as possible, various wonderful cities. My last trip was to Berlin, in early November, and the photos that I send are made there.     Congratulations Javier!! Alexandre Krasnov, Ukraine 20 solved cases

My name is Alexandre Krasnov. I am from Donetsk city in the east of Ukraine. I have been working in Donetsk`s regional specialized center of medical genetic and prenatal diagnosis for 13 years in ultrasound department. I have a great family – a wife and two sons. I love football and history. I like to read books and spend time with my family in my free time. I always search for the answers for TheFetus.net puzzles with a great pleasure.   Alexandre answered 20 cases, he also send us one of the "Cases of the week" himself. Thank you and congratulations! Anna Stepanova, Belarus 20 solved cases

I'm Anna Stepanova from Minsk, the capital of Belarus. I "fell in love†with prenatal ultrasound in 2000, but I got a chance to practice in this area since 2004. At first it was my additional specialty but now I do specialize only in ultrasound. Your website gives me an opportunity to see much more pathology than I can see during my practice. My family, my husband, business consultant, my son Alex 12 years old, daughters Olga and Natasha 9 and 2 years old and black cat Urfin supported me in hours of need.I can't imagine myself without reading. I like to swim and I do regret, that we do not have sea in Belarus.   Anna is a very busy woman who is taking care of her 3 kids. She found a time to solve the cases and she did great!!     Nickolay Petrovich Veropotvelyan, Ukraine 20 solved cases

My name is  Nickolay  Petrovich Veropotvelyan. I'm from Ukraine and I am a director of the  Multiregional Medical Genetics and Prenatal Diagnostics Center in Kryvyi Rih. I'm also a vice-president of the Perinatal Medicine Ukrainiane  Association. I specialize in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Genetics, Ultrasound diagnostics and also in Organization and management of public health.  I am married and have two sons. My wife is a designer. My elder son is an engineer and the younger one still goes to school. My hobbies are driving, drawing, hunting, and reading. I am interested in genetics, reproductive medicine, maternal &  fetal medicine and  interventional & laboratory methods of prenatal diagnostics. My motto is:†Never give up; No matter how hard, Never focus on Your "whoâ€; The results will show You!   Nickolay always gives us very accurate answers which are an example of his brilliant logical way of thinking. Thank you for sharing your skills with us. Congratulations!       Amal Badi, Dubai 19 solved cases

I am very happy to hear that I am going to be among the Top first time winners of the "Case of the week 2009".I am a Greek obstetrician-gynecologist, who after a three years" fellowship with professor Kypros Nicolaides, at Kings College Hospital, in London, decided to dedicate his new private office in Chania exclusively to the prenatal diagnosis of Cretan fetuses. Except from trying to solve a case of the week :), I spend most of my free time with my family, my wife Niki and our two lovely children George (6) and Alexandra (2). I like watching nice movies, listening to fine music, navigating to interesting sites, travelling to picturesque places and playing the guitar for good friends. I also love the good Greek food and wine. We love Spirydon"s comment about his devotion to the Cretan fetuses. He is a great guy and did excelelnt this year. Congratulations!  

Top first time winners - sonographers

Shona Whitmell,  Canada 12 solved cases

I went back to school 10 years ago to become a Sonographer. I currently work at a small hospital in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. I am married with 3 teenage children. My hobbies include gardening, knitting, and chocolate making.  I started taking piano lessons a few years ago, & I wish I had more time for that.  I"m also working towards completing my degree.I"ve been a fan of TheFetus.net for quite a few years now, & have found it to be a valuable resource.  I"ve made the occasional guess over the years, but never with any seriousness.  Last year I decided to make it my New Year"s Resolution to attempt every single case.  What fun it turned out to be!!  I"ve learned so much, and I love that it makes me use my brain & research so many pathologies.  It"s really helped advance my knowledge base & improved me as a sonographer.  It"s cause little competitions with my co-workers, and I"m constantly being asked if I"ve "got the case yet".  Thank you all for the work you do in providing this web site. I love it. This year I will have to resolve to beat this year"s score. Congratulations Shona, your New Year"s resolution came true! You did great, congratulations! Leah Lawrence, USA 12 solved cases Laurie Briare, USA 9 solved cases   Donna Amaraddio, Australia 8 solved cases

Previous top first time winners - physicians

Megha has been a top winner since 2006! She is the only one who got all the answers correct! Congratulations. Christa Faschingbauer, Germany 23 solved cases  

Christa stays among the Top winners for many years!! She had 23 cases solved this year, excellent!    There is not very much exciting news in my life - I still work in my practice day after day (for almost twenty years now).I enjoy my work and I have lots of fun with TheFetus.net. My three lovely children are working and studying out of home. My son, who just got married, works as a Ob/Gyn at the University hospital. My older daughter is a journalist and the younger one is studying medicine. That's why, I have more time for myself.  Ebubekir Unlu, Turkey 23 solved cases