High-resolution flat-panel displays near market
Some monitor firms continue focus on CRTs, howeverThe display monitor market is often overlooked as an area of technological development in PACS. Since correct diagnosis often relies on the resolution of the image display, PACS market participants should track developments in monitor technology closely.
One trend to watch at this year's Radiological Society of North America meeting is the influx of flat-panel displays for PACS and medical imaging applications. Whether or not flat-panel technology is ready for clinical use is a matter of some debate, however. The space-saving advantages of these displays are acknowledged, but some market watchers believe that flat panels have technical limitations that could hinder their penetration of the medical imaging market.
For one thing, some monitor firm executives believe that the image sharpness of flat panels is sometimes unsatisfactory, and also point to the potential for defective pixels in the displays. In addition, flat-panel displays will be considerably more expensive than the cathode-ray tubes on the market. In the price-sensitive and risk-averse PACS industry, that issue could be problematic.
Predictably, vendors preparing to launch flat-panel displays claim that the image display is equal to, if not better than, CRTs, and that the benefits of durability and consistency will justify the steep price of flat panels.
One of the companies that hopes to bring flat-panel displays to the PACS market is IBM, which has developed a 2560 x 2048-pixel display (over 5.2 million full-color pixels). The active-matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD), code-named Roentgen, is a 200-pixel-per-inch display with a 16.3-inch diagonal viewing area.
With many companies developing digital x-ray sensors, and much imaging information already in digital form, the time is right for this type of display in the PACS market, said Robert Wisnieff, manager of IBM Research's Advanced Display Technology Lab, which developed Roentgen.
"Having an output device that delivers 200 pixels to the inch with good gray scale and many millions of pixels is a clear win for a lot of folks," he said.
