Sascha Kriewel

A Survey on Visual Information Search Behavior and Requirements of Radiologists

OBJECTIVES The main objective of this study is to learn more on the image use and search requirements of radiologists. These requirements will then be taken into account to develop a new search system for images and associated meta data search in the Khresmoi project. METHODS Observations of the radiology workflow, case discussions and a literature review were performed to construct a survey form that was given online and in paper form to radiologists. Eye tracking was performed on a radiology viewing station to analyze typical tasks and to complement the survey. RESULTS In total 34 radiologists answered the survey online or on paper. Image search was mentioned as a frequent and common task, particularly for finding cases of interest for differential diagnosis. Sources of information besides the Internet are books and discussions with colleagues. Search for images is unsuccessful in around 25% of the cases, stopping the search after around 10 minutes. The most common reason for failure is that target images are considered rare. Important additions for search requested in the survey are filtering by pathology and modality, as well as search for visually similar images and cases. Few radiologists are familiar with visual retrieval but they desire the option to upload images for searching similar ones. CONCLUSIONS Image search is common in radiology but few radiologists are fully aware of visual information retrieval. Taking into account the many unsuccessful searches and time spent for this, a good image search could improve the situation and help in clinical practice.

A logging scheme for comparative digital library evaluation

Evaluation of digital libraries assesses their effectiveness, quality and overall impact. To facilitate the comparison of different evaluations and to support the re-use of evaluation data, we are proposing a new logging schema. This schema will allow for logging and sharing of a wide array of data about users, systems and their interactions. We discuss the multi-level logging framework presented in [19] and describe how the community can add to and gain from using the framework. The main focus of this paper is the logging of events within digital libraries on a generalised, conceptual level, as well as the services based on it. These services will allow diverse digital libraries to store their log data in a common repository using a common format. In addition they provide means for analysis and comparison of search history data.

Adaptive search suggestions for digital libraries

In this paper, an adaptive tool for providing suggestions during the information search process is presented. The tool uses case-based reasoning techniques to find the most useful suggestions for a given situation by comparing them to a case base of previous situations and adapting the solution. The tool can learn from user participation. A small, preliminary evaluation showed a high acceptance of the tool, even if improvements are still needed.

A Query Language and User Interface for XML Information Retrieval

As XML is about to become the standard format for structured documents, there is an increasing need for appropriate information retrieval (IR) methods. Since classical IR methods were developed for unstructured documents only, the logical markup of XML documents poses new challenges.

Evaluation of an adaptive search suggestion system

This paper describes an adaptive search suggestion system based on case–based reasoning techniques, and details an evaluation of its usefulness in helping users employ better search strategies. A user experiment with 24 participants was conducted using a between–subjects design. One group received search suggestions for the first two out of three tasks, while the other didn’t. Results indicate a correlation between search success, expressed as number of relevant documents saved, and use of suggestions. In addition, users who received suggestions used significantly more of the advanced tools and options of the search system — even after suggestions were switched off during a later task.

An experimental framework for comparative digital library evaluation: the logging scheme

Evaluation of digital libraries assesses their effectiveness, quality and overall impact. In this paper we present a novel, multi-level logging framework that will provide complete coverage of the different aspects of DL usage for user-system interactions. Based on this framework, we can analyse for various DL stakeholders the logging data according to their specific interests. In addition, analysis tools and a freely accessible log data repository will yield synergies and sustainability in DL evaluation and encourage a community for DL evaluation by providing for discussion on a common ground

Khresmoi Professional: Multilingual, Multimodal Professional Medical Search

In this demonstration we present the Khresmoi medical search and access system. The system uses a component based architecture housed in the cloud to support target users medical information needs. This includes web systems, computer applications and mobile applications to support the multilingual and multimodal information needs of three test target groups: the general public, general practitioners GPs and radiologists. This demonstration presents the systems for GPs and radiologists providing multilingual text and image based including 2D and 3D radiology images search functionality.

Strategic Search Support on Macro and Micro Level

Consumers increasingly turn to online resources to get access to medical information. Despite their lack of procedural and domain knowledge, users often have complex information needs. Additionally, incomplete or inaccurate information can negatively affect medical decisions. Existing systems only partially address these problems.This work presents a prototypical implementation of a comprehensive support concept. It aims at giving users, in particular lay people searching for medical information, appropriate assistance on both the strategic and the tactical level while they are trying to solve complex search tasks. The article also describes a series of user experiments conducted as part of a master’s thesis and discusses their results.

Interaktives Retrieval und situationsabhängige Vorschläge

ZusammenfassungIn diesem Artikel wird beschrieben, wie ein adaptives Vorschlagssystem für Suchstrategien Interaktives Retrieval unterstützen kann. Ein Benutzerexperiment mit 24 Teilnehmern zeigte, dass ein solches System Suchenden hilft, erfolgreichere Strategien einzusetzen, als Suchende ohne Unterstützung. Die Ergebnisse lassen eine Korrelation zwischen dem Sucherfolg der Teilnehmer (gemessen an der Zahl relevanter gespeicherter Dokumente) und dem Einsatz von Vorschlägen erkennen. Durch Vorschläge unterstützte Suchende setzten zudem signifikant öfter fortgeschrittene Werkzeuge und Optionen des Suchsystems ein – auch nach Abschaltung der Vorschläge während der letzten Aufgabe des Experiments.

An experimental framework for interactive information retrieval and digital libraries evaluation

Evaluation of digital libraries assesses their effectiveness, quality and overall impact. In this paper we propose to use the Daffodil system as an experimental framework for the evaluation and research of interactive IR and digital libraries. The system already provides a rich set of working services and available information sources. These services and sources can be used as a foundation for further research going beyond basic functionalities. Besides the services and sources, the system supports a logging scheme for comparison of user behavior. In addition, the system can easily be extended regarding both services and sources. Daffodils highly flexible and extensible agent-based architecture allows for easy integration of additional components, and access to all existing services. Finally, the system provides a user-friendly graphical interface and facilitating services for log generation and analysis. The experimental framework can serve as a joint theoretical and practical platform for the evaluation of DLs, with the long-term goal of creating a community centered on interactive IR and DL evaluation.