134
46TH
ANNUAL
CONGRESS
OF
THE
SAEVA
SKUKUZA
16-‐20
FEBRUARY
2014
blurred vision, neck pain, fatigue, eye strain, dry, irritated eyes, and difficulty
refocusing the eyes. These symptoms can be further aggravated by improper lighting
conditions (e.g., bright overhead lighting or glare) or air moving past the eyes (e.g.,
overhead vents).31 It was suggested that reading both hard and soft copy images
produces more operator fatigue that just one format or the other.29 There is
correlation between increased reading time and symptoms of computer vision
syndrome or radiologist fatigue.29 Situations that are known to cause increased
review time include, lower resolution monitors, lower luminance monitors, and
monitors not calibrated to the GSDF.9,10,20,23,32
Fig. 2. Primary large animal radiograph review station. Four, 3MP, medical grade monochrome (GSDF
calibrated) are positioned in landscape mode in a semi-circular configuration. An additional color monitor
enables the simultaneous viewing of other programs such as the web based Hospital Information System
(HIS). To run five monitors, two additional graphics cards must be added to the computer. GSDF, grayscale
display function standard.
Image Display Software
Radiology viewing software must be used to view digital radiographs effectively.
There are many different versions of Windows and Mac based software that range in
price from downloadable freeware to expensive programs sold on a per license per
annum basis. Most of the medical viewing programs are DICOM viewers with the
capability of handling all of the different digital imaging modalities. Some of the
important advantages of digital imaging are made possible through software that
includes display toolsto optimize the evaluation of digital radiographs. The ACR
recommends a minimum standard for DICOM viewer software, which includes
simply controls for window and level (analogous to contrast and brightness), pan and
zoom, flip, rotate and measuring tools. Almost all of the commonly used viewing
programs exceed the minimum standard offering many additional features to
increase diagnostic utility. These features vary with the software program and are
best explored by using the software. A complete discussion of DICOM viewing
software is beyond the scope of this article; however, it is in the best interest of the
purchaser or end user compare different software programs to determine the utility
of that program for their own specific needs or the needs of their hospital.
Soft copy radiograph evaluation is affected by the way in which the radiographs are
displayed on the computer screen. Optimally, one radiograph should be displayed
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