Quantitative Performance Evaluation of Commonly Used Colormaps for Image Display in Myocardial Perfusion Imaging:...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Perceptual Science
• Color Theory

Background:

• Colormaps are crucial for visualizing medical image data.
• Objective evaluation of colormap performance using perceptual metrics is needed.
• Assessing colormap congruence with true pixel intensity is vital for accurate diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess the performance of commonly used colormaps in cardiac imaging.
• To evaluate the congruence between perceptual metrics and true pixel intensity across varying defect severities.
• To identify optimal colormaps for reliable defect detection in simulated cardiac images.

Main Methods:

• Six colormaps (Gray, Thermal, Cool, CEqual, Siemens, S Pet) were analyzed.
• Color data converted to CIELAB space; perceptual metrics (ΔE⁷⁶, speed) calculated.
• Simulated cardiac images with incremental defect severity used to compare colormap performance against true intensity.

Main Results:

• Discrepancies emerged with increasing defect severity (≥10%).
• "S Pet" showed paradoxical lightness changes; "Siemens" had reduced discrimination.
• "Cool" and "CEqual" generally outperformed others, despite some inconsistencies.

Conclusions:

• "Grayscale" and "S Pet" colormaps are less suitable for defect severity estimation.
• "Cool" and "CEqual" demonstrate better performance, though not without limitations.
• Careful colormap selection is essential for accurate interpretation of cardiac imaging findings.