Introduction of the Memorial Fund Lecturer, William J. Tuddenham, M.D.

Abstract

In this society, old presidents do not even fade away. They become Trustees of the Memorial Fund. It is my privilege, again this year, to introduce the Memorial Fund Lecturer, an annual event which assumes great importance in the program of the Society. I might say that the Trustees had great difficulty in selecting a lecturer from so many competent people. In thinking about Dr. Berg's program this afternoon, we thought we ought to get someone from the Society whose name was “Ericksen” or “Johnson,” or some such name as that, and then after some deliberation, we thought we ought to convince Dr. Berg that there are a few scholars in radiology outside of the Scandinavian countries, even aside from those of us who are “adopted sons of Scandinavia.” We are fortunate, indeed, to have one of our own members who will represent us very well in these particular circumstances. Dr. Tuddenham is a native of Utah, a graduate in chemistry of that university. He did postgraduate work at the California Institute of Technology before entering the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Doctor's degree; and later, his Master's Degree in Science for his postgraduate work in radiology. Dr. Tuddenham has been a James Picker Foundation Fellow, or Scholar in Research, for a number of years, and very recently he became Professor of Radiology in charge of Diagnostic Section, at the University of Pennsylvania. His research has been extensive and wide in scope, and in recent years he has devoted himself to a large extent to the problems of visual physiology involved in roentgen interpretation. To anyone who has exposed himself to comparative testing of observations, that is, comparison with other radiologists or with oneself, as some of us have, the fact of the frequency of human error in interpretation of roentgenograms is perfectly clear. The reasons, however, are perhaps not so apparent. The title of the lecture we are to hear this afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, gives us some indication of the scope of the problem. I am very proud to introduce Dr. William J. Tuddenham, Professor of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, who will speak on “Visual Search, Image Organization, and Reader Error in Roentgen Diagnosis: Studies of the Psychophysiology of Roentgen Image Perception.”