Singular vectors of a linear imaging system as efficient channels for the ideal observer in detection tasks involving non-Gaussian distributed lumpy images

Joel M. Witten; Subok Park; Kyle J. Myers

doi:10.1117/12.772054

24 March 2008 Singular vectors of a linear imaging system as efficient channels for the ideal observer in detection tasks involving non-Gaussian distributed lumpy images

Joel M. Witten, Subok Park, Kyle J. Myers

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6917, Medical Imaging 2008: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment; 69170U (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.772054
Event: Medical Imaging, 2008, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Bayesian ideal observer sets an upper bound for diagnostic performance of an imaging system in binary detection tasks. Thus, this observer should be used for image quality assessment whenever possible. However, it is difficult to compute ideal-observer performance because the probability density functions of the data, required for the observer, are often unknown in tasks involving complex backgrounds. Furthermore, the dimension of the integrals that need to be calculated for the observer is huge. To attempt to reduce the dimensionality of the problem, and yet still approximate ideal-observer performance, a channelized-ideal observer (CIO) with Laguerre-Gauss channels was previously investigated for detecting a Gaussian signal at a known location in non-Gaussian lumpy images. While the CIO with Laguerre-Gauss channels had, in some cases, approximated ideal-observer performance, there was still a gap between the mean performance of the ideal observer and the CIO. Moreover, it is not clear how to choose efficient channels for the ideal observer. In the current work, we investigate the use of singular vectors of a linear imaging system as efficient channels for the ideal observer in the same tasks. Singular value decomposition of the imaging system is performed to obtain its singular vectors. Singular vectors most relevant to the signal and background images are chosen as candidate channels. Results indicate that the singular vectors are not only more efficient than Laguerre-Gauss channels, but are also highly efficient for the ideal observer. The results further demonstrate that singular vectors strongly associated with the signal-only image are the most efficient channels.

Citation Download Citation

Joel M. Witten, Subok Park, and Kyle J. Myers "Singular vectors of a linear imaging system as efficient channels for the ideal observer in detection tasks involving non-Gaussian distributed lumpy images", Proc. SPIE 6917, Medical Imaging 2008: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment, 69170U (24 March 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.772054

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