Image quality performance of liquid crystal display systems: influence of display resolution, magnification and window settings on contrast-detail detection.

The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effects of liquid crystal display (LCD) resolution, image magnification and window/level adjustment on the low-contrast performance in soft-copy image interpretation in digital radiography and digital mammography. In addition, the effect of a new LCD noise reduction mechanism on the low-contrast detectability was studied. Digital radiographs and mammograms of two dedicated contrast-detail phantoms (CDRAD 2.0 and CDMAM 3.4) were scored on five LCD devices with varying resolutions (1-3- and 5-megapixel) and one dedicated 5-megapixel cathode ray tube monitor. Two 5-megapixel LCDs were included. The first one was a standard 5-megapixel LCD and the second had a new (Per Pixel Uniformity) noise reduction mechanism. A multi-variate analysis of variance revealed a significant influence of LCD resolution, image magnification and window/level adjustment on the image quality performance assessed with both the CDRAD 2.0 and the CDMAM 3.4 phantoms. The interactive adjustment of brightness and contrast of digital images did not affect the reading time, whereas magnification to full resolution resulted in a significantly slower soft-copy interpretation. For digital radiography applications, a 3-megapixel LCD is comparable with a 5-megapixel CRT monitor in terms of low-contrast performance as well as in reading time. The use of a 2-megapixel LCD is only warranted when radiographs are analysed in full resolution and when using the interactive window/level adjustment. In digital mammography, a 5-megapixel monitor should be the first choice. In addition, the new PPU noise reduction system in the 5-megapixel LCD devices provides significantly better results for mammography reading as compared to a standard 5-magapixel LCD or CRT. If a 3-megapixel LCD is used in mammography setting, a very time-consuming magnification of the digital mammograms would be necessary.