Diagnostic imaging plays a central role in diagnostic medicine. The extraction of information from image data by expert readers is an essential step in this process. While the performance of these readers is a marvelous phenomenon of nature, it remains far from ideal. The understanding and optimization of the diagnostic-information-extraction process is a central focus of the Medical Image Perception Society (MIPS), and the Medical Image Perception Conference is the Society's principle forum. ( The conference was formerly called the """""""" Far West"""""""" Image Perception Conference because it was originally held in Utah and Arizona.) It brings together radiologists, psychologists, statistician, physicists, engineers, and others whose focus is the extraction of diagnostic information from images by humans and machines. Topics include the process of searching images, quantitative evaluation and mathematical modeling of performance, and optimization of the human- machine interface. quantitative evaluation methods include multi variate statistical approaches that account for variances and correlations of patient, reader, and other experimental variable. Although a major focus has correlations of patient, reader, and other experimental variable. Although a major focus has been on conventional and digital radiography, mammography, and spiral CT, there is now a clear trend toward applications to all imaging modalities. Medical Image Perception Conference IX is planned for 20-23 September 2001 at the Airline Conference Center, a country-side conference retreat in the western environs of Washington DC, about 40 minutes from Dulls International airport. We anticipate 60-100 attends, including participants from the NCI, ACT, and FDA, all of which have headquarters in the region. This grant will be used to provide financial support for about 12 graduate students and residents, and the logistic support of adios-visual equipment, publicity and printing.
