Pathologists light level preferences using the microscope-study to guide digital pathology display use

Area of Science:

• Digital Pathology
• Medical Imaging
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Digital pathology lacks guidelines for display selection and configuration.
• Pathologists' microscope brightness preferences were hypothesized as predictors for digital display settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pathologists' brightness adjustment habits on microscopes and digital displays.
• To determine optimal digital display luminance preferences for pathologists.
• To assess the correlation between microscope and display brightness preferences.

Main Methods:

• An online survey of 108 pathologists across six NHS hospitals.
• A practical assessment with 20 consultants to determine display luminance preferences.
• Development of a novel lightmeter adaptation for measuring microscope eyepiece light output.

Main Results:

• 81% of pathologists adjust microscope brightness, versus 11% for digital displays.
• Display adjustments were primarily for visual comfort and ambient light, not tissue factors.
• Microscope brightness preferences did not correlate with display preferences, except at very high microscope brightness.
• Most pathologists preferred display luminance <500 cd/m², with 90% preferring 350 cd/m² or less.

Conclusions:

• Microscope brightness preferences are poor predictors of display luminance needs.
• A display brightness of 500 cd/m² is suitable for nearly all pathologists; 300 cd/m² suffices for most.
• The ability to adjust display luminance is important to pathologists, though infrequently used.