Can you handle the truth about dedicated medical display systems?

Medical display are just good quality consumer displays right? Wrong. Read on to discover 10 good reasons to use a dedicated medical display system over a simple consumer display.

Information in this article is taken from Barco’s White Paper 10 Reasons to Use a Medical Display System (2006). For more information on Barco medical displays please visit www.imagingsol.com.au/partners/barco.html.

DISPLAY RESOLUTION

Comparison: Up to 2048 x 2560 or 5 megapixel in portrait or landscape compared to form-fit factor (landscape) in standard consumer displays.

Benefits: Better correspondence to the format of medical images; higher resolution allows the radiologist to see more detail without panning or zooming; higher image quality and increased productivity.

LUMINANCE RANGE

Comparison: Luminance levels above 1000 cd/m2 (closer to film) as compared to a maximum luminance of 250 – 300 cd/m2 for consumer displays.

Benefits: Broader spectrum of greyscales discerned (Just Noticeable Differences of JNDs); easier and fast diagnosis.

CONTRAST

Comparison: Contrast (up to 1000:1) is substantially better than most consumer displays (average only 300:1 contrast ratio).

Benefits: Better contrast ratios are capable of rendering more DICOM JNDs; better contrasts often seen as more important than luminance.

VIEWING ANGLE

Comparison: Technology with state-of-the-art viewing angle characteristics compared to flat panel displays which use different LCD technologies have therefore have widely varying viewing angle characteristics.

Benefits: Consistent viewing in environments where viewing happens from different angles.

GREYSCALE RANGE

Comparison: Wider greyscale range enabling medical grade displays to render every greyscale (as defined by DICOM) compared to 256 (8 bit) on most consumer displays.

Benefits: Higher greyscale range e.g. Coronis greyscale displays offer 4096 shades of grey (12 bit); complies with guidelines by the AAPM and EUREF (displays with 8 bit greyscale resolution will fail this requirement).

IMAGE CONSISTENCY

Comparison: Sophisticated front- (I-Guard) and backlight sensor (BLOS) technology compared to varied brightness over time and at different temperatures.

Benefits: Consistent image display over time and across displays; ensures compliance to DICOM 3.14; continuous brightness measurement and correction; compensation for long-term drift; greater reliability.

LUMINANCE UNIFORMITY

Comparison: Medical displays equipped with Barco’s Uniform Luminance Technology (ULT) achieve no more than 10% non-uniformity. In other displays, non-uniformity can be as much as 25-30 %.

Benefits: Images appear differently in the corner of the display than in the centre; achievement of AAPM and EUREF proposed limit nonuniformity of 10%; no matter where you display the image on the screen, the perception is equal.

DICOM CALIBRATION

Comparison: Medical displays have a luminance response function calibrated on the display by means of an optical measuring device, compared to one that is not suitable for viewing medical images on standard displays.

Benefits: Response function suitable for medical images in line with DICOM 3.14 proposal; calibration by means of an optical measuring device; display has means to keep the image consistent over time.

MEDICAL APPROVALS

Comparison: Unlike medical displays, standard consumer displays do not take into account new and existing medical standards and regulations.

Benefits: Guaranteed compliance with all new and existing medical and safety regulations, and in all marketplaces.

CONFIGURATION AND QUALITY CONTROL

Comparison: Medical display systems are supported by the proper configuration and optimum quality control tools.

Benefits: Automatic control and tracking of the display configuration and image quality of over time with results kept in a central database; reports generated automatically which is a valuable asset during hospital audits.