THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY OF VARIOUS USER INTERFACES FOR THE CONTRAST EXPERT SYSTEM SURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT.

THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY OF VARIOUS USER INTERFACES FOR THE CONTRAST EXPERT SYSTEM SURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT. CONTRAST IS A KNOWLEDGE-BASED COMPUTER CONSULTANT DESIGNED TO ASSIST NMR RADIOLOGISTS IN THE TASK OF SELECTING SCANNING PARAMETERS THAT OPTIMIZE DIAGNOSTICALLY USEFUL CONTRAST IN THE RESULTANT IMAGES. THIS PHASE I STUDY WILL EXPLORE FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVES FOR USER INTERFACE DESIGNS TO THIS NMR EXPERT SYSTEM. SPECIFICALLY, RESEARCHERS WILL CONSIDER: 1. THE GRAPHICAL DISPLAY OF INFORMATION AND ITS RELATION TO INTERNAL KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATIONS; 2. THE USE OF NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING; AND 3. COMPUTER UNDERSTANDING OF USER GOALS, PLANS, AND INTENTIONS FOR DIALOGUE MANAGEMENT. PHASE II WILL UNDERTAKE A FULL INTEGRATED PILOT IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PHASE I DESIGN. THE IMPLEMENTED USER INTERFACE WILL BEREFINED AND TESTED WITH THE CONTRAST EXPERT SYSTEM AND USED BY RADIOLOGISTS AS A TOOL TO ASSIST IN NMR IMAGING. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS RESEARCH IN THE PHASE II STUDYWOULD EXTEND THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE USE OF DISCOURSE STRUCTURE IN NATURAL LANGUAGE INTERFACE DESIGN. FURTHER, ITWOULD LEAD TO A COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE PRODUCT USEFUL TO CLINICAL RADIOLOGISTS.