Diagnostic imaging plays a vital role in diagnostic medicine. The extraction of information from image data by"""""""" expert readers (radiologists) is an essential step in this process. While performance of these highly trained readers is exceptional, it remains far from ideal. The introduction of new technologies for acquiring and displaying diagnostic information continually adds to the amount and complexity of information that the radiologist must visualize, interpret and act upon. The understanding and optimization of the diagnostic process starting from the point of information extraction and proceeding through the various steps towards the cognitive process of decision making is a key focus of the Medical Image Perception Society (MIPS) and the Medical image Perception Conference. This conference has been held every two years since 1985. it brings together radiologists, psychologists, statisticians, physicists, engineers, and others interested in the myriad of perceptual and cognitive processes associated with the diagnosis of medical images by humans and computers. Topics range from examining the visual search processes associated with image interpretation by the human (radiologist) observer, through quantitative evaluation and mathematical modeling of performance for the optimization of the human-machine interface. Particular emphasis is also placed on presentation of quantitative evaluation methods to assess observer performance, and these range from new variations on traditional Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) techniques to alternative evaluation methods that include the incorporation of subjective image ratings. Although the major focus of the conference in the past has been on radiological image perception and interpretation, recent conferences have included papers on other image-based specialties such as pathology and dermatology, especially in the context of telemedicine applications. The Medical Image Perception Conference X will be held 11 - 14 September 2003 at the R. David Thomas Conference Center on the Duke University campus in Durham, NC. We anticipate to have approximately 50 - 55 attendees from the US, Europe and Japan. This grant will be used to provide financial support for about 12 graduate students and residents, as well as logistic support for publicity and program printing.
