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I've travelled sea-to-shining sea here performing ultrasound applications training and various service calls. It seems that on nearly every visit, I find that the customer's monitor has not been calibrated to their room.
If you don't have a properly calibrabrated ultrasound monitor, you are not seeing the whole picture. Literally. And the problem is that most people don't know it's needed nor how to do it. In this article, I'll show you how.
But Brian, shouldn't it already be calibrated by company who sold it to me?
No. A monitor can only be calibrated properly when it's set in the room in which the scanning will be performed. A bright room will have different calibration results than a dark room.The shop from which it came was probably tested in a bright room, which is typically not the type of environment it will ultimately be used. It's important to note that the last step in the testing process at a factory, distributor, or refurbishing shop may be to turn up the brightness and contrast for various system diagnostics. They don't always turn it down. Regardless, systems aren't tested in dark rooms typically. The brightness is almost always too high.
Why is it important? My images are fine.
Because you may be missing data or seeing too much data. When it's not calibrated bright enough... you lose the low-end spectrum in the greyscale, which means small details are missing from your image. And if it's too bright, strong echos will appear very bright and may over-represent what you're really seeing.
How much does it cost? I'm not technical
It shouldn't cost you a cent. I've outlined the instructions below and isn't terribly complicated.
It's not too hard. I have some questions for you to answer along the way, but the final steps aren't too difficult.
There are different processes for LCD and CRT monitors. When I use the term LCD, I am referring to the modern-looking Flat-Panel monitors. CRT's are the old-style monitors that looks like a traditional TV. Take note of which one you have.
Adjust the lighting in the scan room to how it will be during typical ultrasound procedures.
You're looking to replicate the environment in which it's most typically used.
Any of the basic defaults such as general abdominal, OB, Carotid, or adult cardiac should be fine.
Your ultrasound may have tools to guide you through the process. To find out, check your user manual. If you don't have a manual available, user manuals can be found on your system by pressing F1 on the keyboard or look on the keyboard for a question mark or Help button. If you have neither, most ultrasound systems have a Utility, Setup, Config, System, or Options button/menu. Press the button and look for a System Tools, Service, or similar button. Within this, you can often find a monitor calibration menu. If you can't find it, or your machine is from before the early 2000s, you may not have it. Check your user manual. I have an extensive library of ultrasound user manuals, so you could also contact me and I can let you know if there are on-board calibration tools on your ultrasound system. bgillgps@gmail.com
Often the tools are awful. If you can, get the gray levels correct and don't worry too much about the color.
If you found the calibration tool to be complex, you're not alone. I find them cumbersome on some systems. Time to move on to the next step.
These are found in many places. Some LCD ultrasound monitors don't have a contrast adjustment on them. Regardless, on most CRT and LCD monitors, the contrast/brightness adjustments are on the front of the monitor, below the main screen. They can also be found on the right-or-left side of the monitor. For some portable/laptop systems, they may be hidden in some menu within the software. Check the user manual if they're not visible.
Turn the contrast adjustment to 100%. If distortion occurs, scale it back to the point where the image does not appear distorted.This will vary from machine-to-machine. Some LCD monitors may have contrast settings at 30%-50%, but most CRT's are 90%-100%. SOME LCD ULTRASOUND MONITORS DO NOT HAVE A CONTRAST SETTING.
It looks like this:
Brightness is a misnomer, you're actually adjusting black levels, not the white levels. Sorry, I'm a nerd and for some reason I think it's important for people to know this. Regardless:
Write down the location of the system, the date, and the final settings you created. Tape it to the side or back of the monitor. I've seen situations where people make pen marks on it or tape them down so people don't accidentally mess them up. If you're going to draw on your monitor, I recommend using scotch tape to make the marks. You'll stay out of trouble that way.
That's it, a few simple steps to make sure you're seeing the Whole Picture. You'll be able to see new things, and make better diagnosis with these simple steps.
As always, feel free to drop a comment or email me with your questions! If you seek other ultrasound quick tips, please let me know and I'll post them here. bgillgps@gmail.com
Til next time,
Brian Gill
President, GPS Medical Inc.
866-347-7633
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