Model prediction of just noticeable differences: Are the eyes attracted to the same areas?

The JNDmetrix human visual system model developed by the Sarnoff Corporation is used to predict observer performance on visual discrimination tasks. It begins with two paired images as the initial input and ends with a JND map that shows the magnitude and spatial location of visible differences between the two input images. The goal of this experiment was to determine if the location and magnitude of JNDs identified by the model corresponded to visual search parameters of the human observer. Radiologists searched 20 mammograms with multiple masses and microcalcifications of different subtleties as their eye-position was recorded. The JNDmetrix model analyzed the same images and identified, with JNDs, discriminable areas on the images. Lesions with lower subtlety ratings were detected later in search than more obvious ones (FNs later than TPs). When the subtler lesions were detected (TP) dwell time was longer than more obvious lesions, but the FNs received shorter total dwell. The subtler lesions when detected (TP) received more total fixation clusters than more obvious ones, but the FNs received fewer. The correlation between the model JNDs and the eye-position parameters was high. Understanding the influence of lesion subtlety on search may help us better model and predict human observer performance.