Fundamental properties of medical image perception

Abstract

With a mind toward the effective acquisition, processing, presentation, and reading of radiological images, a survey of how the human visual system perceives images is presented here. The level is chosen to be suitable for the radiologist, and the relative emphasis on the various visual cues of luminance, color, form, texture, motion, and depth is chosen based on their importance with radiological images. Examples of the radiological relevance of the various visual properties are given. We cover first what the visual system's behavior is and then survey some of the properties of the physiological mechanisms that provide this behavior.