title: Efficiency of the human observer detecting random signals in random backgrounds.
abstract: The efficiencies of the human observer and the channelized-Hotelling observer relative to the ideal observer for signal-detection tasks are discussed. Both signal-known-exactly (SKE) tasks and signal-known-statistically (SKS) tasks are considered. Signal location is uncertain for the SKS tasks, and lumpy backgrounds are used for background uncertainty in both cases. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are employed to determine ideal-observer performance on the detection tasks. Psychophysical studies are conducted to compute human-observer performance on the same tasks. Efficiency is computed as the squared ratio of the detectabilities of the observer of interest to the ideal observer. Human efficiencies are approximately 2.1% and 24%, respectively, for the SKE and SKS tasks. The results imply that human observers are not affected as much as the ideal observer by signal-location uncertainty even though the ideal observer outperforms the human observer for both tasks. Three different simplified pinhole imaging systems are simulated, and the humans and the model observers rank the systems in the same order for both the SKE and the SKS tasks.
authors.affiliation: Program in Applied Mathematics and Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724, USA. sprk@math.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Subok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clarkson
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kupinski
authors.forename: Harrison H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Barrett
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis