Defective pixels in medical LCD displays: problem analysis and fundamental solution

Over the past few years, traditional CRT displays have gradually been replaced by active matrix LCD displays. Each pixel in an LCD display has its own individual transistor that controls the transmittance of that pixel. Occasionally, these individual transistors will short or malfunction, resulting in a defective pixel that always shows the same brightness. This article shows how defective LCD pixels can interfere with subtle features in medical images. A defective pixel affects a broad area around it therefore possibly reducing the quality of diagnosis specifically for highly demanding applications such as mammography. A specialized image processing algorithm provides an innovative solution making these defects completely invisible and recovers information from the defect so the radiologist perceives the medical image correctly.