Visual search errors are persistent in a laboratory analog of the incidental finding problem

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Medical imaging
• Human factors engineering

Background:

• Radiologists often miss clinically significant incidental findings during image interpretation.
• The
• mixed hybrid search
• task models this problem using specific and categorical targets.
• Existing methods show high error rates for categorical targets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate methods for reducing errors in identifying incidental findings within the mixed hybrid search task.
• To assess the efficacy of different intervention strategies in a controlled experimental setting.
• To inform potential improvements for clinical diagnostic workflows.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments were conducted to test different strategies: reminding observers of categorical targets, dual response trials, and a checklist procedure.
• Participants searched visual displays for memorized specific and categorical targets.
• Error rates and response times were measured for each experimental condition.

Main Results:

• Reminding observers of categorical targets (Experiments 1a, 1b) and dual response trials (Experiment 2) did not significantly reduce errors.
• A mandatory checklist procedure (Experiment 3) markedly reduced errors in identifying categorical targets.
• Experiment 3 also resulted in a substantial increase in overall response time.

Conclusions:

• The checklist procedure is effective in reducing errors related to incidental findings in a search task.
• There is a significant trade-off between error reduction and response time when implementing stricter search protocols.
• Further research is needed to optimize methods for clinical application, balancing accuracy and efficiency.