pacsDisplay

Description

The applications in the pacsDisplay project include programs for generating and installing DICOM grayscale look up tables (LUTs), displaying grayscale quality control test patterns, measuring chromaticity and DICOM GSDF conformance, characterizing display uniformity, evaluating ambient lighting conditions, and measuring both luminance and illuminance. The current release supports Microsoft Windows 10/11 environments.

Quantitative photometric measurements are performed using supported photometers. The following meters are compatible: X-Rite i1Display Studio/Pro/Plus, NEC SpectraSensor Pro, ColorMunki Display, Calibrite Display Pro/Plus HL, and other rebranded meters.

A full description of the pacsDisplay modules can be found here.

Features and Release Updates

Version 6A of pacsDisplay is the first major update of the software in many years. It includes a complete overhaul of the distribution structure, moving away from Tcl Starpacks to Starkits with a shared interpreter. The distribution also features improved documentation on GitHub and an improved repository structure. New build scripts automate the generation of distribution packages. Release 6A includes only the pdQC toolset, which now includes the ability to load LUTs to the graphics card. Smaller changes within the applications include:

• Support for measuring external displays (e.g., acquisition workstations) in both lumResponse and uniLum
• Additional test patterns in iQC include the TG270-ULN test patterns
• Corrected errors in lumResponse behavior when changing between measurement modes
• Removed Lamb component from Luni values (but still included in MLD/LUDM calculations)
• Shift+click copy feature to capture all displayed values in i1meter

View the full history of updates here.

Background and Open Source

The development of pacsDisplay applications began in 1999. The first public package, Release 3H, was organized in 2006 and made available on request under the Gnu general public license. Since then, Henry Ford Health has made use of the programs within its radiology department. Beginning with Package Release 5A, a more formal Open Source Project effort was formed with software distributed from an Open Source repository at GitHub.

View the complete code base and build your own version here.

Support

Several tools in the current version use the spotread command line tool from ArgyllCMS to interface with photometers. If you have a meter supported by ArgyllCMS and would like to see it supported in pacsDisplay, please contact us. The authors of pacsDisplay are grateful to ArgyllCMS for the continued development of its product. If you find pacsDisplay helpful for your work, we strongly urge you to consider supporting ArgyllCMS.