OBSERVER PERFORMANCE STUDIES--CASE SELECTION ISSUES

现在在成像过程中进行的许多调查 系统的评估和比较包括解释(阅读) 受试者评估的正常和异常病例的研究 工作特性(ROC)或其衍生产品。不幸的是，如果 其中一个考虑了案例选择表征和读者 可变性大多数研究都需要大得惊人的样本量 以产生足够的统计力量来处理具有统计意义的 在阅读模式之间的辨别以一种既临床上 相关的和可概括的。案例选择协议的方法 这一领域的观察者表现研究在很大程度上是武断的。 我们建议调查是否有可能实施 特定的案例选择方案可以让人们专注于有限的 临床问题可以由观察者一锤定音 需要小得多样本量的性能研究；因此， 研究更具可行性和合理性。此外，在 与这类病例在临床中所占比例的数据相结合 环境(图像的一般集合)，结果的概括 或推断其对临床实践的影响。

Many of the investigations that are now carried out during imaging systems' evaluations and comparisons include interpretation (reading) studies of normal and abnormal cases that are evaluated by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) or derivative thereof. Unfortunately, if one takes into account case selection representation and reader variability most studies would require a prohibitively large sample size to produce adequate statistical power for a statistically significant discrimination between reading modes in a manner which is both clinically relevant and generalizable. Approaches to case selection protocols for observer performance studies in this field have been largely arbitrary. We propose to investigate the possibility that the implementation of specific case selection protocols could allow one to focus on limited clinical questions which can be conclusively answered with an observer performance study requiring a much smaller sample size; hence, making such studies much more feasible and reasonable to perform. In addition, in conjunction with data on the proportion of such cases in the clinical environment (general ensemble of images), generalization of the results and or inference on the impact on clinical practices could be done.