Abstract
The problem of detecting a signal in a noisy background is highlighted from the point of view of communication systems, sensory perception studies and assessment of the intrinsic quality of medical imaging equipment. The concepts of “psychometric curves” (PMC) and of “receiver operating characteristics” (ROC) are introduced.
The likelihood ratio approach is discussed to illustrate the techniques for constructing optimum detectors for communication systems, but at the same time to find the best figure of merit to perform the quality assessment. The concepts of “detectability index” and of the “area under ROC” are shown to be the most suitable figures of merit which can also profitably be employed in medical imaging experiments with human observers. Several medical imaging modalities are discussed and the methods to specify the detectability index from measurable characteristics of the imaging performance and of the intrinsic noise of the equipment are presented.
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Thijssen, J.M. (1988). Focal Lesions in Medical Images: A Detection Problem. In: Viergever, M.A., Todd-Pokropek, A. (eds) Mathematics and Computer Science in Medical Imaging. NATO ASI Series, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83306-9_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83306-9_22
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