Abstract
Softcopy reading has become the mainstream method of diagnosis in digital mammography. High -resolution color monitors that allow interpolation between multiple modalities have become available in recent years, and high-resolution 4K tablets are also becoming popular for consumer use. In this study we compared the physical characteristics of medical color monitors and 4K tablets, and we used a CCL550i2/AR 5MP color monitor, Coronis Uniti MDMC-1213312MP color monitor, and UT-MA4 4K tablet to make the comparisons. The measurements were made with NS-2007 (S.S. Giken), and we used a Nikon D80 camera. The values measured were uniformity, MTF, and NPS. The uniformity of the 5MP and 12MP color monitors was comparable, but the 4K tablet was inferior to the 5MP and 12MP color monitors. NPS was also poorer with the 4K tablet than with the 5MP and 12MP color monitors. The differences may have been attributable to pixel size and sub-pixel structure. The results indicate that the 4K tablet used in this study is suboptimal for use as a reading terminal. However, 4K tablets have “higher resolution” and “higher MTF” than medical monitors, and they are compatible with GSDF curves. Thus, 4K tablets are expected to be used for learning and training in mammography reading instead of general-purpose monitors. However, since the physical characteristics of the 4K tablet are inferior to those of medical monitors, it will be necessary to confirm that the diagnostic results obtained with the 5MP can be adequately depicted on the 4K tablet.
