Visual search patterns in roentgen diagnosis.

The surprising frequency of reader error in roentgen diagnosis constitutes a challenging problem, the magnitude of which has been ably documented by Garland (6, 7). Some avoidable reader error results from our failure to record critical shadows. More commonly, however, reader error appears to be due to failure to perceive shadows which have been adequately recorded. More precise control of “film quality” than is already possible with existing equipment and materials is not likely, therefore, to increase greatly the accuracy of roentgen diagnosis but greater understanding of the nature of perceptual error may result in significantly improved performance (9). The factors responsible for errors of perception are, of course, most elusive, but it seems reasonable to assume that they derive, first, from the reader's failure to scan or search the film adequately, and second, from his failure to organize the recorded images effectively. Despite the fundamental importance of visual search in roentgen diagnosis, th...