ISSN:
1741-0444
Keywords:
Colour coding
;
Image display
;
Radionuclide imaging
;
Uniform chromaticity scale
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract The use of digital technology in medical imaging gives the potential for improving the way in which images are displayed. One possibility is to represent intensity information by false colours rather than the conventional grey shades. Although this has several potential advantages, it has not been widely accepted. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of grey scale coding with three colour scales: the hot-body scale, a blue-green-red scale derived from the Uniform Chromaticity Scale, and a contrasting-colour scale. Two perceptual tasks were studied using computer-simulated images of the type produced in nuclear medicine. The first was to test the ability to perceive changes in image sharpness. The grey scale, hot-body scale and blue-green-red scale performed equally well but the contrasting-colour scale was significantly worse than others. The second pattern measured the ability to detect small changes in image intensity. The contrasting colour scale was best for this task and the grey scale worst. While the best colour scale depends on the information which is to be extracted from the image, both the hot-body scale and the blue-green-red scale appeared to offer a satisfactory compromise.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02441829
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