How hunting for rare targets changes what people notice in images
Prevalence effects in visual search: Theoretical and practical implications
This project looks at how searching for rare or mixed targets—like a stroke on a head CT or pneumonia on a chest X‑ray—changes how often and how quickly people spot them, aiming to make image review safer for patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11122307 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would take part in tasks where people search images for different targets presented in mixed sequences rather than repeated blocks of the same task. Researchers will measure how previous searches change how long people keep looking, how often they miss targets, and how decision thresholds adapt. The work uses examples that mimic real settings such as emergency department radiology and scenarios relevant to driving. Some experiments will involve medical images and clinicians, while others use healthy volunteers in controlled lab or remote testing.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants include radiologists and other clinicians who read medical images, as well as healthy volunteers or drivers able to complete image-search tasks.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate clinical care for an acute condition would not receive direct medical treatment benefit from participating in these experiments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce missed findings in emergency radiology and improve safety in situations like driving by informing how searches, workflows, and training are organized.
How similar studies have performed: Laboratory studies have long shown that rare targets are often missed in visual search, but moving those findings into real-world clinical workflows is more recent and still being tested.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wolfe, Jeremy M — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Wolfe, Jeremy M
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.