NEC MD212MC User's Information Guide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Philip Anast

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PATIENT SAFETY, RADIOLOGIST PRODUCTIVITY AFFECTED BY USE OF

CONSUMER-GRADE DISPLAYS FOR DIAGNOSTIC IMAGE READING

Use of Consumer-level Displays Creates Concerns in Diagnostics

CHICAGO – March 16, 2010 – NEC Display Solutions of America

commercial LCD

reconsider any plans to use consumer-grade LCD displays for primary diagnostic reads
of patient scans.

Use of consumer-grade panels is on the rise due partly to the increase in teleradiology –
where radiologists perform readings outside of their hospital, lab or office – coupled with
hospital budgetary constraints. The trend can adversely affect both patient safety and
radiologist productivity. NEC Display, which offers both varieties of displays, including
DICOM-calibrated medical diagnostic displays, and professional- and commercial-grade
LCD displays, suggests there are specific criteria important in evaluating displays for
primary radiology reads.

According to the American College of Radiology, more than 70 percent of radiology errors
are perceptual (Footnote No. 1: See

http://www.acr.org/MainMenuCategories/about_us/committees/ethics/SurvivalStrategiesf

display and projector solutions, today recommended that radiologists

, a leading provider of

orRadiologyDoc20.aspx), meaning a failure to perceive a radiographic abnormality. Such

errors can impact patient care and raise the risk of liability. Ability to see radiographic
abnormalities can be directly linked to the diagnostic display’s ability to show small

details, display an adequate range of shades of gray and produce a uniformly bright
image. This is especially critical for imaging modalities such as digital X-rays and

mammography, which require displays with native resolutions of 3-megapixels and 5­megapixels, respectively. Beyond resolution specifications, medical displays also
incorporate superior electronics with longer-life components and features important to
image quality like the ability to calibrate to the DICOM curve, uniformity correction to
address issues inherent in every LCD panel and 12-bit gamma lookup tables for finely
detailed, accurate renderings of delicate shadings.

Overall, LCD display technology has improved in quality over recent years, and
resolutions and picture quality can appear to be good enough for diagnostic work on
many of the consumer-grade displays available at retail stores. However, the tradeoffs
are substantial and warrant scrutiny.

2

Part of the analysis includes return on investment (ROI), which is improved with medical­grade displays, because typical product life is four times greater than that of COTS
(commercial off-the-shelf) displays.

Calibration also impacts ROI because medical-grade displays include integrated front
sensors and backlight sensors to automatically hold DICOM calibration steady over time.
All LCD backlights lose luminance over time, fading 5 percent over the first 100 hours and
10 to 15 percent over the first 1,000 hours.

Therefore, when displays are equipped with self-correcting sensors, the displays can
avoid frequent calibration at the expense of time and manpower. In addition, the ROI of
medical-grade displays is better due to longer warranties, which in some cases include
overnight replacement.

“Many radiology departments are now considering COTS displays for diagnostics due to
budgetary considerations,” said Stan Swiderski, Business Development Manager for
Professional/Specialty/Medical Displays at NEC Display Solutions. “But most COTS
displays will not pass muster for diagnostic reads, even if these displays look good on
first evaluation. Lesser-grade panels exhibit color shift at off-angle viewing, which can
impact interpretation. In addition, most diagnostic displays are used in portrait orientation,