High-Fidelity Electronic Display of Digital Radiographs

Abstract

A fully digital radiography system requires high-fidelity electronic display devices that preserve diagnostic quality. Current cathode-ray tube monitors do not meet desired performance criteria for displaying radiographs and have excessive size, weight, and power consumption. Recent developments in flat-panel display technology (in particular active-matrix liquid crystal displays, field-emission displays, and organic light-emitting displays) suggest that high-fidelity, lightweight displays will be available in the near future. Large-size active-matrix liquid crystal display devices have been demonstrated. High brightness can be easily achieved with bright back illumination. Further developments in optical design for monochrome displays should provide high fidelity and improve the angular dependence of the emitted light. Field-emission display devices have attractive emission distribution and potential for low veiling glare. This technology needs to be extended to a large area, and problems with cathode aging and nonuniformity have to be contemplated. Organic light-emitting displays represent a simple and potentially inexpensive display technology with the ability to achieve high image quality. However, extensive research and development is required to achieve large-area manufacturing methods.

Need for liquid–crystal display monitors having the capability of rendering higher than 8 bits in display-bit depth

“…It is known that the human visual system shows particular properties of dark adaptation, light adaptation, and chromatic adaptation in order to change the response depending on the amount of incident light, spectrum from objects, and ambient lighting [8]. Moreover, the human visual system has the highest contrast sensitivity near the average luminance in the retina, and the contrast sensitivity is less in the brighter and darker areas [9][10][11]. For these reasons, we considered that observers were highly affected by the background luminance, and they distinguished a smaller difference in luminance as the luminance level of the test pattern was closer to the background.…”

Influence of liquid crystal display monitors on observer performance for detection of diffuse pulmonary disease on chest radiographs

“…1 Whereas until a few years ago cathode-ray-tube (CRT) monitors were exclusively used as the display device in PACS, active-matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors have now been used as a display device. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Now LCD fl at panel displays are more likely to be adopted than CRT monitors, 9 although LCD monitors have several advantages as well as disadvantages compared with CRT monitors. 3,[5][6][7] Several studies [9][10][11][12][13] have been conducted to determine whether a LCD monitor was an acceptable alternative to a CRT monitor.…”

The influence of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors on observer performance for the detection of nodular lesions on chest radiographs

“…More recently, active-matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors have been used as a display device for medical digital images [11][12][13][14][15][16], and LCD and CRT monitors are currently the two most common types used in diagnostic radiology systems [13][14][15]. LCD monitors have several advantages as well as disadvantages compared with CRT monitors [11,[13][14][15].…”

“…LCD monitors have several advantages as well as disadvantages compared with CRT monitors [11,[13][14][15]. However, a few studies [17,18] have so far been conducted on the performance of soft-copy reading using an LCD monitor, and little is known about the effects of LCD on the observer's performance.…”