Geert Defieuw

Requirements for dry hard copy in medical diagnostic applications

Today, dry process and color printers are more and more common in medical applications. The main applications for these printers are in ultrasound, nuclear medicine, medical imaging workstations and endoscopy. Each of these disciplines has its specific application requirements. Image quality and other considerations with regard to medical applications are discussed. Although the emphasis in medical imaging lies within grayscale imaging, the increased use of techniques such as doppler imaging, power doppler in ultrasound and image processing with workstations, intensify the need for high quality color output on hardcopy. For the radiology department, hardcopy must be of diagnostic quality and suitable for light box viewing. The different criteria to meet these requirements such as resolution, noise, density and physical properties are discussed. Also a short description of the implementation in the Agfa DRYSTAR 2000TM printer and its consumables will be explained. The achieved quality level will be supported by measurements. Starting from specific image processing for grayscale imaging (such as Look Up Tables) and specific imaging processing for color imaging, a new dedicated image processing method for medical dry hard copy will be presented. Both optimal grayscale imaging and color imaging combined are needed in ultrasound. In relation to this item, some non resolved issues will be explained. As a conclusion, a brief presentation of a hospital application test, validating the system for diagnostic purposes is given.

Assessment of 14x17-in. direct thermal printing versus a laser printing system for medical diagnostic applications

The purpose of this paper is to explain and discuss the technological realizations in direct thermal printing to achieve the requirements to perform medical diagnosis on film.

Direct thermal hard copy system for medical diagnostic applications

A new dry system based on a direct thermal technology with diagnostic properties has been developed. This paper discusses the major improvements in printer and film required to achieve the image quality needed to meet the diagnostic requirements. The concept of the printer and the film rate both explained. The image quality achieved in terms of contrast, resolution, noise and other parameters is discussed. The results of archivability and shelf life testing and the physical properties of the material are also presented. To validate the technology for diagnostic purposes, a hospital test has been performed for ultrasound, CT, MRI, R and F and vascular studies. The method and results of this testing are presented in the paper. The hospital tests showed that the images obtained with the dry system materials can be used for diagnostic purposes.