Syntermed - Monitor Verification

The following monitor evaluation was excerpted from the Executive Summary of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 18:

Samei E, Badano A, Chakraborty D, Compton K, Cornelius C, Corrigan K, Flynn MJ, Hemminger B, Hangiandreou N, Johnson J, Moxley-Stevens DM, Pavlicek W, Roehrig H, Rutz L, Shepard J, Uzenoff RA, Wang J, Willis CE. Assessment of display performance for medical imaging systems: Executive summary of AAPM TG18 report. Medical Physics 32(4):1205-1225, 2005.

The report can be read in it’s entirety here.

Conducting the Test

In order to conduct this test, you will need to download the TG18-QC test image and display it at the full 1024x1024 resolution. If you are using the Microsoft Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, once the image has loaded, click in the image and then hold down the “Control” key while simultaneously pressing the “a” key – this will force the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to display the picture at it’s actual size. If you are using any other display program for displaying the image, you will need to force the picture to display at it’s actual size (1024 x 1024), sometimes referred to as a zoom of 100%, instead of “Fit to Window” or a zoom of less than or more than 100%.

Click here to download the test image (right click to save to your computer)

III.J.1. Evaluations using TG18-QC Pattern

The appearance of the elements in the TG18-QC test pattern can be used to assess the overall performance of a display system. The following are recommended:

1. General image quality and artifacts: Evaluate the overall appearance of the pattern. Note any non-uniformities or artifacts, especially at black-to-white and white-to-black transitions. Verify that the ramp bars appear continuous without any contour lines.

2. Geometric distortion: Verify that the borders and lines of the pattern are visible and straight and that the pattern appears to be centered in the active area of the display device. If desired, measure any distortions.

3. Luminance, reflection, noise, and glare: Verify that all 16 luminance patches are distinctly visible. Measure their luminance using a luminance meter if desired, and evaluate the results in comparison to the DICOM GSDF. Verify that the 5% and 95% patches are visible. Evaluate the appearance of low contrast letters and the targets at the corners of all luminance patches with and without ambient lighting.

4. Resolution: Evaluate the Cx patterns at the center and corners of the pattern and grade them compared to the reference score. Also verify the visibility of the line-pair patterns at the Nyquist frequency at the center and corners of the pattern, and if desired, measure the luminance difference between the vertical and horizontal high-modulation patterns.

Click here to download the test image (right click to save to your computer)