Diagnostic reading session: temporal patterns and case-order effects.
The authors analyzed receiver-operating-characteristic studies to determine temporal patterns and performance as a function of the elapsed time in a reading session. Nineteen radiologists each read as many as 300 chest images with use of seven different display modalities, including conventional and laser-printed film and high-resolution soft display. With a computerized reporting system, the ratio of observers' interpretation rates (time to diagnosis) were recorded for the last five and 10 compared with the first five and 10 of 30-40 cases seen in sessions lasting 45-110 minutes. Observers tended to accelerate their interpretation as the sessions progressed by an average of 15% (P < .001). The acceleration was consistent for all readers (both fast and slow) with a variety of display modes under the nonrestricted time environment.
Good
W F
WF
Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburg, PA 15261-0001.
King
J L
JL
Sumkin
J H
JH
Miketic
L M
LM
Gur
D
D
D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013997:Time Factors