Display systems for Digital Pathology: what are proper luminance, contrast and resolution settings?

The past few years digital pathology has been widely adopted. The display system is a crucial component in the overall digital pathology system, since pathologists decide based upon images visualized on the display. Quality of the display can influence clinical performance, but also workflow efficiency and ergonomics. Performance of radiology display systems has been extensively studied, and this resulted into standardization and clear requirements and guidelines. Digital pathology images and viewing conditions are very different compared to radiology. Fewer effort has gone in understanding what makes a digital pathology display fit for use, and there is no consensus yet in the digital pathology community about ideal specifications for digital pathology displays. This paper studies specific characteristics of digital pathology display systems, such as luminance, contrast and resolution. Effects of these characteristics on visibility of relevant pathological features is described, and recommendations are made for clinically meaningful levels of luminance, contrast and resolution.