In order for the radiologist to do the best possible job, there are a number of systems that need to work optimally. Not the least of these is the monitor on which the images and information are displayed, especially in digital mammography; in fact, if the monitor is not up-to-snuff, all the quality of the systems and processes that go before may be wasted.
Thanks to technological improvements, today’s flat panel monitors offer clean, crisp images that go a long way to help a radiologist do accurate reads — and efficiently. With high-megapixel models available, they can see more than ever. And with new diagnostic and calibration software available, radiologists can be assured that their monitors remain in top form.
Several vendors offer high-megapixel models specifically for mammography:
• Eizo has three models in its RadiForce line: the GS521 and new GX530 5 MP models, and the new GX1030 10 MP monitor. The high resolution is useful in displaying subtle structures in the detection of mammary gland disorders, which can appear as distortion, Eizo says. Image sharpness also helps detect subtle masses and calcifications, it adds.
• Wide Corp. also offers a 10 MP model, the MW100, and a 5MP MW50 model, both with applications for mammography.
• Totoku received FDA 510(k) clearance for a 3 MP display for mammography in October 2010. The company said its independent subpixel drive (ISD) technology enables it to provide resolution values equivalent to a 9 mega-subpixel display in the MS31i2 3 MP model. It can be configured for a single- or dual-head workstation, in either landscape or portrait orientation. Totoku also has a 5 MP digital mammography display, the MS51i2, also equipped with ISD.
Totoku recently introduced new calibration software, Medivisor Nx, which will support the i2 models. The automatic sensor detection checks for connected and available calibration sensors and selects the right one automatically.
• Barco offers 5 MP flat panel display systems for softcopy mammography applications, including the Coronis 5 MP Mammo, which features “Per Pixel Uniformity” technology. At RSNA 2010, it introduced the 10 MP Coronis Fusion for a wide variety of high-resolution grayscale studies, including breast images.
Several high-megapixel models from Barco were purchased by Gwinnett Breast Center in Duluth, Ga., in conjunction with its recent implementation of a new picture archiving and communications system (PACS). Gwinnett bought several Coronis 5 MP Mammo grayscale displays, as well as 3 MP models and the Coronis Fusion 6 MP DL widescreen color display. The center also installed Barco’s MediCal QAWeb software to automate the quality assurance process. The Web-based software provides the ability to centralize virtually all QA activities for all the medical-grade displays.
April 17, 2024 
