Display Differs Depending Upon Grayscale Tones

In a filmless environment, digitized medical images are displayed anywhere within networked hospitals. Monitors have grayscale tone characteristics which may vary even between the same models. A unified standard is required to display images properly and consistently, and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Part 14 is used as a standard to adjust the grayscale tone characteristics of monitors used in the medical field.

Quality Required for Monitor to Display Medical Images

When DICOM Part 14 medical images are displayed on standard monitors, they may not offer refined rendering of subtle shadings, unified display between multiple monitors, or rendering consistency over time.

Information Volume of Medical Images and Monitors

Information volume of the medical image differs depending on the modality which creates the image. When installing monitors in your hospital, it is important to consider the "information volume" of the medical images that the monitor needs to display. For example, a 1MP monitor can display 4 slices of CT with an information volume of 512 × 512 pixels, a 2MP monitor can display 6 slices, and a 3MP monitor can display 12 slices without losing any of the information.

However, a chest CR which has an information volume of 1760 × 2150 pixels can only be displayed partially with a 1 or 2MP monitor. Thus, in order to display the full image, the information must be stretched causing a thinning effect of the image. Using a 3MP monitor, the image can be displayed fully without the information being thinned-out and a resulting loss in image quality.