RESUMO
In order to study cognitive processes of radiological diagnosis, 22 radiologists with different experience levels interpreted two complex films, with no clinical data. Exploration strategies, used knowledge and reasoning were analyzed. Experimented radiologists interpreted clues more easily, using richer and more integrated knowledge. They used a symptomatic exploration, guided by hypotheses that related to salient cues. Cues that were both subtle and unexpected were better detected by novices and "super experts" than by intermediates and "basic experts". Novices detected those cues by mean of a systematic exploration. "Super experts" benefitted from an increased likelihood of unexpected cue detection due to longer and more supported reasoning. Also, they might have complemented the symptomatic exploration with an automatic systematic one.
