Eye tracking method compatible with dual-screen mammography workstation

In this paper a new approach is proposed to track the perceptual behaviour of radiologists when they examine mammographic images displayed on large dual clinical monitors. Zooming and panning are inevitably performed by the radiologist to examine such large images by using the DICOM viewing software. Such image manipulating movements on the target displays makes eye tracking techniques difficult to perform and also the size of the dual clinical monitors makes existing eye tracking techniques generally inadequate. Hence a method using the Smart Eye Pro eye tracker and optical character recognition techniques was designed to relate the recorded radiologists’ eye gaze behaviour on the monitors to the actual zoomed and panned medical image areas. This then allows clinical studies involving radiologists interacting with these mammographic images to be successfully carried out

Intelligent computing applications to assist perceptual training in medical imaging

The research presented in this thesis represents a body of work which addresses issues in medical imaging, primarily as it applies to breast cancer screening and laparoscopic surgery. The concern here is how computer based methods can aid medical practitioners in these tasks. Thus, research is presented which develops both new techniques of analysing radiologists performance data and also new approaches of examining surgeons visual behaviour when they are undertaking laparoscopic training. Initially a new chest X-Ray self-assessment application is described which has been developed to assess and improve radiologists performance in detecting lung cancer. Then, in breast cancer screening, a method of identifying potential poor performance outliers at an early stage in a national self-assessment scheme is demonstrated. Additionally, a method is presented to optimize whether a radiologist, in using this scheme, has correctly localised and identified an abnormality or made an error. One issue in appropriately measuring radiological performance in breast screening is that both the size of clinical monitors used and the difficulty in linking the medical image to the observer s line of sight hinders suitable eye tracking. Consequently, a new method is presented which links these two items. Laparoscopic surgeons have similar issues to radiologists in interpreting a medical display but with the added complications of hand-eye co-ordination. Work is presented which examines whether visual search feedback of surgeons operations can be useful training aids

New technology in radiological diagnosis: An investigation of diagnostic image quality in digital displays of radiographs

Digital radiology is undergoing rapid evolution. Its objectives can be summarized as the creation within the modern radiology department - and indeed within the entire hospital - of a harmonious, integrated, electronic network capable of handling all diagnostic radiological images, obviating the need for conventional film-based radiology. One of the limiting factors in the introduction and exploitation of digital technology is the issue of image display quality: if electronic display systems are to be widely used for primary radiological diagnosis, it is essential that the diagnostic quality of the displayed images should not be compromised. From the perspective of the practising radiologist, this study examines the performance of the first two commercially available digital radiological display systems to be purchased and installed in a British hospital. This work incorporates an extensive observer performance investigation of image quality from existing 1024- and 1280-line display systems, and suggests that displayed images digitized at a pixel size of 210?m show a significant reduction in diagnostic performance when compared with original film. Such systems appear to be unsuitable for primary radiological diagnosis of subtle lesions. Some of the physical properties of such systems, some relevant methodological issues, and the relationship between image quality and other factors influencing the development acceptance and implementation of digital technology, have also been investigated; the results are presented. This is a controversial subject, and conflicting views have been expressed in the British literature concerning the issue of whether or not the technology is now ready for total system implementation; the view of this author is that careful testing of display systems, and of every other component of digital networks, should precede their entry into clinical use

Sensorimotor adaptation of human control strategies : ramifications for future human-machine interface design

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1995.Includes bibliographical references.by Corinna E. Lathan.M.S

AUGMENTED REALITY AND INTRAOPERATIVE C-ARM CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY FOR IMAGE-GUIDED ROBOTIC SURGERY

Minimally-invasive robotic-assisted surgery is a rapidly-growing alternative to traditionally open and laparoscopic procedures; nevertheless, challenges remain. Standard of care derives surgical strategies from preoperative volumetric data (i.e., computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images) that benefit from the ability of multiple modalities to delineate different anatomical boundaries. However, preoperative images may not reflect a possibly highly deformed perioperative setup or intraoperative deformation. Additionally, in current clinical practice, the correspondence of preoperative plans to the surgical scene is conducted as a mental exercise; thus, the accuracy of this practice is highly dependent on the surgeon’s experience and therefore subject to inconsistencies. In order to address these fundamental limitations in minimally-invasive robotic surgery, this dissertation combines a high-end robotic C-arm imaging system and a modern robotic surgical platform as an integrated intraoperative image-guided system. We performed deformable registration of preoperative plans to a perioperative cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), acquired after the patient is positioned for intervention. From the registered surgical plans, we overlaid critical information onto the primary intraoperative visual source, the robotic endoscope, by using augmented reality. Guidance afforded by this system not only uses augmented reality to fuse virtual medical information, but also provides tool localization and other dynamic intraoperative updated behavior in order to present enhanced depth feedback and information to the surgeon. These techniques in guided robotic surgery required a streamlined approach to creating intuitive and effective human-machine interferences, especially in visualization. Our software design principles create an inherently information-driven modular architecture incorporating robotics and intraoperative imaging through augmented reality. The system's performance is evaluated using phantoms and preclinical in-vivo experiments for multiple applications, including transoral robotic surgery, robot-assisted thoracic interventions, and cocheostomy for cochlear implantation. The resulting functionality, proposed architecture, and implemented methodologies can be further generalized to other C-arm-based image guidance for additional extensions in robotic surgery

A situated method for modelling and analysing the efficiency of cognitive activity during the radiology reporting workflow using eye-tracking

The success of modern medical imaging systems has created a data overload problem, where an ever-increasing number of examinations, generate more images per study, which all need to be evaluated by radiologists or other reporting practitioners. This operational bottleneck hasthe potentialto create fatigue and burnout due to the high mental workload that is required to keep up with the demand. The focus of this problem centres around the cognitive complexity of the radiology reporting workflow, and the associated workstation interactions involved in diagnostic report generation. There has been a significant body of work evaluating the behaviour of radiologists using controlled laboratory-based techniques, but these non-naturalistic studies fail to address the highly context dependant nature of the radiology reporting workflow. For example, the early eye-tracking work of Charmody et al; the psychometric studies by Krupinksi et al; and also the workstation interaction evaluations of Moise et al; whilst highly principled, can be all be questioned on the grounds of ecological validity and authenticity. This thesis asserts that the only way to truly understand and resolve the radiology data overload problem, is by developing a situated method for observing the reporting workflow that can evaluate the behaviours of the reporting clinicians in relation to their authentic reporting context. To this end, this study has set out to develop a new approach for observing and analysing the cognitive activities of the reporters relative to the demands of their genuine working environment, and supported through the application of a Critical Realist’s perspective to naturalistic workplace observations. This goal was achieved through the development of four key project deliverables: • An in-depth exploratory study of the radiology overload problem based on an extensive literature review and situated observations of authentic reporting workflows. • A descriptive hierarchical activity modelof the reporting workflow that can be understood by both clinicians, application designers and researchers. • A generalised methodology and research protocolfor conducting situated observations of the radiology reporting workflow, using an analysis based on the process tracing of sequencesof Object Related Actions, captured with eye-tracking and multimodal recordings. • A set of case studies demonstrating the applicability of the research protocol involving 5 Radiology Consultants, 2 Radiology Registrars and one Reporting Radiographer at a single NHS Hospital within the UK. The final workflow evaluation of the case studies demonstrated that activities such as error correction, and the collection of supporting radiological information from previous studies is complex, time consuming and cognitively demanding. These types of activities are characterised by long, low utility actions that correspond to what Kahneman refers to as “Thinking Slow”. Also, the participants appeared to be self-optimising their workflow via a sparse use of complex functionality and system tools. From these observations, the author recommends that any intervention that can reduce the number and the duration of the object related actions used to produce radiology reports, will reduce cognitive load, increase overall efficiency, and go some way to alleviate the data overload problem. 4 This study establishes a new set of situated techniques that are able to capture and quantify the complex dynamicactivities that make up the radiology reporting workflow. Itis hoped that the ability to distil usefuland impactful insightsfrom the user’s workstation behaviours can be used as the basis for further development in the area of workflow analysis and redesign, which will ultimately improve the working lives of Radiologists and other Reporting Clinicians. Lastly, the generic nature of these techniques make them amenable for use within any type of complex sociotechnical human factors study related to the cognitive efficiency of the user

The 1993 Space and Earth Science Data Compression Workshop

The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is described in terms of its data volume, data rate, and data distribution requirements. Opportunities for data compression in EOSDIS are discussed

Technology 2002: the Third National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, Volume 1

The proceedings from the conference are presented. The topics covered include the following: computer technology, advanced manufacturing, materials science, biotechnology, and electronics