Study of signal-to-noise ratios considered human visual characteristics

Yui Hayashi; Maki Yamada; Yukiyoshi Kimura; Naotoshi Fujita; Yoshie Kodera

doi:10.1117/12.877998

3 March 2011 Study of signal-to-noise ratios considered human visual characteristics

Yui Hayashi, Maki Yamada, Yukiyoshi Kimura, Naotoshi Fujita, Yoshie Kodera

Proceedings Volume 7966, Medical Imaging 2011: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment; 79661S (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877998
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2011, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida, United States

Abstract

The effects of imaging parameters on detectability have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we investigated the usefulness of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) considered as human visual characteristics, such as the visual spatial frequency response and the internal noise in the eye-brain system. We examined the amplitude model (SNRa), matched filter model (SNRm), and internal noise model (SNRi) to study the relationship between these SNRs and the visual image quality for signal detection. The test images were simulated by the superimposition of low-contrast signals on a uniform noisy background. The SNRs were obtained for 15 imaging cases with various signal sizes, signal contrasts, exposure levels, and number of acrylic plates used as breast phantoms. The SNRs were calculated by measuring the spatial frequency characteristics of the signal, modulation transfer function (MTF) of the system, display MTF, and overall Wiener spectrum (WS). In the perceptual evaluation, we applied the 16-alternative forced choice (16-AFC) method. The signal detectability was defined as the number of detected signals divided by the total number of signals. We studied the relationship between SNR and signal detectability using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient of SNRi was 0.93, making it the highest among the three SNR types. That of SNRm was 0.91; it correlated at the same level as SNRi although it is not considered human visual characteristics. That of SNRa was 0.45. SNRi, which incorporated the visual characteristics, explained the visual image quality well.

Citation Download Citation

Yui Hayashi, Maki Yamada, Yukiyoshi Kimura, Naotoshi Fujita, and Yoshie Kodera "Study of signal-to-noise ratios considered human visual characteristics", Proc. SPIE 7966, Medical Imaging 2011: Image Perception, Observer Performance, and Technology Assessment, 79661S (3 March 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877998

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
7 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Signal to noise ratio

Signal detection

Visualization

Image quality

Modulation transfer functions

Interference (communication)

Spatial frequencies

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years