How to help the brain see cancer
Dr William Simpson, University of Plymouth

Breast cancer is detected by radiologists who view mammograms (X-ray images of the breasts). No matter how sophisticated the imaging equipment used to create the mammograms, a limiting factor in cancer detection is the visual system of the radiologist. Therefore, if we can present mammogram images to the radiologist in a way tailored to the capabilities of the visual system, we can improve cancer detection. Visual perception is at the very core of psychology, and a great deal is known about it. I will discuss drawbacks of current modes of mammogram presentation and how we might improve such presentation, along with preliminary results.

Dr William Simpson is a Reader in Psychology at University of Plymouth. Dr Simpson’s expertise is in visual perception, with special interests in motion perception and the detection of signals in noise. Dr Simpson received his PhD at the University of Toronto.