Interacting with Image Sequences: Detail-in-Context and Thumbnails

An image sequence is a series of interrelated images. To enable navigation of large image sequences, many current software packages display small versions of the images, called thumbnails. We observed radiologists during typical diagnosis sessions, where image sequences are examined using photographic films and sophisticated light screens. Based on these observations and on previous research, we have developed a new alternative to the presentation of image sequences on a desktop monitor, a variation of a detail-in-context technique. This paper describes a controlled experiment in which we examined the way users interact with detail-in-context and thumbnail techniques. Our results show that our detail-in-context technique accommodates many individual strategies whereas the thumbnail technique strongly encourages sequential examination of the images. Our findings can assist in the design and development of interactive systems that involve the navigation of large image sequences.