In use for more than a decade, the DICOM GSDF standard ensures consistent and high-quality visualization of grayscale images. However, medical imaging has clearly shifted toward the use of color images; the majority of medical images currently already contain color information, said presenter Tom Kimpe, PhD.
"Remarkably, as of today, there is no agreed standard of how color medical images need to be visualized," Kimpe told AuntMinnie.com. "Common practice today is that for visualization of medical color images, one either uses color medical display systems calibrated to the DICOM GSDF standard -- which only calibrates grayscale, not color behavior -- or one even uses noncalibrated color displays that typically have sRGB behavior."
In testing, the researchers found that neither approach yielded high-quality representation of color medical images.
"Color medical images will look different on different display systems, possibly resulting in some features being visible on one display but not on another, but even on the same display the color behavior changes over time and can result in different perception of color medical images," Kimpe said.
A recently proposed extension to GSDF called the Color Standard Display Function (CSDF) may help solve this problem.
"A preliminary analysis on clinical images has been performed and it suggests that, indeed, it can bring a large improvement," Kimpe said. "In the presentation, we will also show some of these images and show how accurately calibrated color makes a difference compared to standard GSDF or sRGB."
