| Perceptual Component | What It Is | Game/Exercise Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast Discrimination | Ability to distinguish differences in shades or density | 🔹 Show two near-identical images and ask which has a subtle abnormality (e.g., early ground-glass). 🔹 Flash a pair of radiographs quickly and ask which one shows more lucency. |
| Edge & Boundary Detection | Recognizing borders (e.g., heart border, fissures) | 🔹 “Find the Silhouette” game: highlight where anatomical borders blur due to pathology. 🔹 Trace outlines in normal and abnormal CXRs. |
| Shape Recognition | Seeing form even in partial or distorted ways | 🔹 “What Shape Do You See?” – abstract cropped or rotated segments (normal or pathological) to train pattern completion. 🔹 Match lesion outlines to common shapes (coin, cauliflower, bat-wing). |
| Symmetry Recognition | Sensing imbalance in mirrored structures | 🔹 “Mirror Me” challenge: which side is abnormal? 🔹 Compare R/L lung fields or hemidiaphragms and find the asymmetry. |
| Figure–Ground Differentiation | Separating object from background (e.g., seeing a nodule in a noisy field) | 🔹 “Hide & Seek” nodules: place a subtle finding in a noisy background. 🔹 Layer images and challenge the user to isolate the abnormality. |
| Pattern Recognition (Pre-identification) | Noticing textures or patterns without naming them yet | 🔹 “Texture Hunt”: Identify which images have reticulation, honeycombing, tree-in-bud, etc., without labels. 🔹 Flash GGO vs consolidation vs normal, ask “same or different?” |
| Temporal Perception (in sequential scans) | Perceiving change over time | 🔹 “Time Traveler” game: Show follow-up scans in random order — ask user to reorder them chronologically based on perception of disease progression/regression. |
| Peripheral Awareness | Seeing the whole field, not just the obvious center | 🔹 Use wide CXR views and hide subtle clues in periphery. 🔹 Gamify with a timer: “What’s wrong outside the lungs?” |
🔄 How to Train the Brain to Perceive Better
| Approach | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Slow Looking | Forces active, attentive perception instead of passive glancing. |
| Flipped Images | Rotating or inverting disrupts automatic labeling, forcing true visual processing. |
| Blurred Images | Makes users focus on shape/form/contrast rather than fine detail. |
| Partial Reveal | Like a curtain lifted progressively — encourages anticipatory perception. |
| Timed Flash | Boosts rapid visual capture (like speed reading for images). |
| Comparison Games | Reinforce subtle distinctions by putting images side-by-side. |