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. 2016 Jan;3(1):011003.
doi: 10.1117/1.JMI.3.1.011003. Epub 2015 Oct 12.

Image toggling saves time in mammography

Trafton Drew  1 , Avi M Aizenman  2 , Matthew B Thompson  3 , Mark D Kovacs  4 , Michael Trambert  5 , Murray A Reicher  6 , Jeremy M Wolfe  7
Affiliations

Image toggling saves time in mammography

Trafton Drew et al. J Med Imaging (Bellingham). 2016 Jan.

Abstract

When two images are perfectly aligned, even subtle differences are readily detected when the images are "toggled" back and forth in the same location. However, substantial changes between two photographs can be missed if the images are misaligned ("change blindness"). Nevertheless, recent work from our lab, testing nonradiologists, suggests that toggling misaligned photographs leads to superior performance compared to side-by-side viewing (SBS). In order to determine if a benefit of toggling misaligned images may be observed in clinical mammography, we developed an image toggling technique where pairs of new and prior breast imaging exam images could be efficiently toggled back and forth. Twenty-three radiologists read 10 mammograms evenly divided in toggle and SBS modes. The toggle mode led to a 6-s benefit in reaching a decision [[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]]. The toggle viewing mode also led to a 5% improvement in diagnostic accuracy, though in our small sample this effect was not statistically reliable. Time savings were found even though successive mammograms were not perfectly aligned. Given the ever-increasing caseload for radiologists, this simple manipulation of how the images are viewed could save valuable time in clinical practice, allowing radiologists to read more cases or spend more time on difficult cases.

Keywords: change blindness; detection; display technology; perceptual errors; visual search.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Example of a practice case used in the study. There is a mass in the present exam. Note the misalignment between cases: (a) RMLO past and (b) RMLO present.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic illustration of the toggle viewing method. Participants used the mouse wheel to quickly “toggle” between different views.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Behavioral performance on the task. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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