Image presentation in digital radiology: perspectives on the emerging DICOM display function standard and its application

DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) Working Group XI, formerly called ACR/NEMA (American College of Radiology/National Electrical Manufacturers' Association) Working Group XI, is currently developing a display function standard. The main objective of the standard is to define mathematically a display function for all image presentation systems. As a secondary objective, the standard aims at providing similarity in gray-scale perception for a given image between display systems of different luminance and at facilitating efficient utilization of the available digital input levels of a display system. The design of the display function incorporates the concept of perceptual linearization. The proposed standard applies to monochrome image presentation devices such as cathode ray tube monitor-display controller systems and digital laser image printers. The standard does not eliminate the use of application-specific display functions but rather ensures their effectiveness. Neither does the standard guarantee equal information transfer between image presentation devices with different physical properties; it does, however, from the basis for applying image processing to compensate for such differences.