Did you know that the advancement of technology has actually improved efficiency within the healthcare field? It’s no secret that technological advancements have made our lives easier in a variety of ways. However, in the healthcare field, these advancements can save lives.
Having the right technology is critical when it comes to various situations, including in radiology. This means that when you’re choosing medical imaging monitors for clinical reviews, you want to choose the best product for your patients. While medical imaging techniques generate detailed information, it gives patients with better, more comprehensive care.
If you’re ready to learn more about picking a monitor for clinical professionals in your facility, keep reading for a comprehensive guide.
Radiologists, medical physicists, and information technology specialists commonly use a “picture archiving and communications system” or PACS for transferring, processing, storing, and displaying medical images.
Having the right monitor to display the images that are getting taken helps patients to get the care that is comprehensive and right for them. With the right monitor, your healthcare professionals can get a better look at the detailed information given by various scans.
A medical imaging monitor is a vital medical device and should not be viewed as another computer monitor. The right medical imaging device will have a DICOM-compatible standard and medical-grade certified power supply.
When you’re looking to optimize your patient’s care and improve the efficiency of your medical and clinical professionals, you need electronic medical records and medical imaging.
This allows you to access the information and treatment history of your patients quickly. There are two types of monitors you will look at when it comes to medical imaging monitors.
Diagnostic monitors are classified as primary displays. This type of monitor gets used for interpreting images.
On a diagnostic monitor, healthcare workers can view MRIs, CT scans, X-rays, and more. Because of this, you will often see this type of monitor in a radiologist’s work area. They are often used 8 to 12 hours a day or, in some situations, 24 hours a day.
This means that the monitor needs to be reliable and have a high resolution. A high resolution would be at least three megapixels. However, for mammography, at least five megapixels are necessary.
A clinical review monitor, our primary focus today, is a secondary display. This type of monitor will have multiple uses; however, they still get used in a medical setting.
This type of monitor gets found in work areas for non-radiology doctors and radiologic techs. They are typically utilized in bursts instead of continuously.
For example, you may see a clinical review monitor get used in the following situations:
Because this monitor can display almost every type of medical image for a secondary review, it has to support certain DICOM standards. These standards allow for the grayscale levels of the images to be seen in detail. In addition, this type of monitor also needs to have a medical-grade certified power supply.
When it’s time to choose the medical imaging monitor you need for clinical review, the necessary specs will look different from what you need on a diagnostic monitor.
However, the required specs on a medical imaging monitor for clinical reviews are just as important. You want your monitor to have the capability of performing well in any situation.
In order to have confidence in your equipment, there is basic knowledge you will need to have about your purchase.
When discussing the resolution, a vital component to understand is pixels. When a scan is taken, the size of the image is often much larger than your monitor.
However, somehow you need to translate that image so that it can get viewed on your display and the resolution is good. This is where your PACS system comes into play.
Your PACS will rescale the image so that it fits the display’s resolution. Once the image gets rescaled, you can view the full image on any display.
The pixel pitch of your monitor will determine the maximum spatial frequency and the amount of detail in the image you are viewing. If you are looking at an image that is closer, you need a lower pixel pitch.
However, if you are looking at an image that is farther away, you need a higher pixel pitch. For clinical reviews, clinicians are often viewing the image from a further distance.
In contrast, radiologists, when utilizing diagnostic monitors, are going to be looking at the image from close up. When discussing pixel pitch for a clinical review monitor, the American College of Radiation or ACR gives the following recommendations:
When it comes to resolution and visualization, the brightness of your screen monitor is another vital aspect to consider. Your brightness gets measured in candelas per square meter or cd/m². This can also get called nits.
An acceptable range is 80 cd/m² to 120 cd/m². However, the brightness that gets recommended most commonly is 100 cd/m² when it comes to multiple application work.
The numbers you’re looking at for clinical review monitors are going to look different from common recommendations. The ACR guideline states that the minimum calibrated brightness for clinical review is 250 cd/m².
This is due to the fact that, when you have a brighter screen, the luminance you get helps the results display with better image quality. When you have better image quality, you will be able to detect lesions and other things that might be missed without that quality.
DICOM stands for “digital imaging and communications in medicine.” DICOM is a standard protocol.
This protocol addresses the transmission and management of medical images the data related to the images. It’s used in many healthcare facilities worldwide.
This standard is important because it allows clinicians to quickly access treatment history and their patient’s data. This enables healthcare staff to make decisions regarding treatment and helps to prevent injuries and diseases.
When you’re choosing a medical imaging monitor for clinical review, it’s important that you choose one that is DICOM compatible. By ensuring that it is, you can save your patients’ lives and shorten communication time between you and your colleagues.
Safety should always be a priority for any equipment you’re using. Your clinical review monitor should get the same kind of attention.
IEC 60601-1 / EN 60601-1 looks at safety standards for electrical medical equipment. Ensuring that the monitors you purchase meet this standard means that you are actively investing in protecting your patients, staff, and others who enter your facility.
Your clinical review monitor should have a low-voltage medical-grade power supply that is specially designed. This design allows for reliability, safety, and performance in a healthcare setting. It does this by preventing energy-related hazards, fire, electric shock, and heat-related issues when your device is getting used.
Up until recently, images from radiology were shown in landscape mode. This occurred because of the computer history.
Unfortunately, landscape orientation isn’t always the greatest mode to view images for diagnostics. Imaging for mammography or the 14” x 17” chest and skeletal radiography is best viewed in portrait orientation.
Choosing a monitor that can operate in both modes puts you ahead of the game. This allows you to shift to the mode you need depending on the imaging you’re viewing.
A bezel is a frame around your monitor. A bezel-less design also gets referred to as a frameless monitor.
In this design, the long strip of plastic bezel gets removed from the sides, top, and often even the bottom of the screen. By removing the bezel, you eliminate the distortions that can get caused by them.
Keep in mind that, even in a bezel-less design, there will be a thin border there. However, because it is so thin, it doesn’t register the same way, which means that it doesn’t interfere with your perception the same way. This also makes it much easier to set up a station for review with monitors that are side by side.
There are some great benefits that you can get by purchasing a clinical review monitor. These benefits will help you better serve your patients and improve the efficiency of your staff.
Working in a medical setting, it’s likely your staff works long hours. Purchasing equipment that can get adjusted can help your staff adjust the screen for comfort and for personal needs.
Whether it needs to be adjusted for height, tilted, pivoted, swiveled, or switched between portrait and landscape mode, you want them to be able to adjust the monitor with ease. Choose a monitor that is versatile.
When you purchase a clinical review monitor with a VESA compliant monitor bracket, it allows for flexible installation medical cart mobility so that your workstation can be mobile.
It also means that your doctors and nurses can access patients’ information quickly and therefore give care that is accurate and timely. Mounting solutions are important for your equipment.
Purchasing a professional clinical review monitor helps you ensure that you meet a high standard for performance and clinical safety.
However, the benefits do not stop there. Clinical review monitors make for a better user experience. These monitors support a wide range of applications and use for all types of medical professionals.
Are you ready to choose the right monitor for clinical reviews? Choose a monitor that will ensure your patients get great care, and your staff is efficient.
Check out our AG Neovo MD-Series Clinical Review Monitors for your healthcare or clinical review monitors installation plans.
