Comparison of the technical features of traditional light microscope, commercial monitors and pathology-dedicated medical monitor
| Feature | Traditional microscope | COTS monitor | PG monitor | Pathology-dedicated MG monitor |
| Screen technology | Optical lenses | LCD with LED backlight | IPS LCD with W-LED backlight | IPS LCD with LED backlight |
| Active screen size | Viewing through eyepiece only | 19.5” diagonal, 49.53 cm | 27″ diagonal, 68.6 cm | 27″ diagonal, 22.4×13.2” |
| Resolution | Dependent on objective lens magnification | 1.44 MP (1600×900 pixels) at 60 Hz | 8 MP (3840×2160 pixels) at 60 Hz | 8 MP (3840×2160 pixels) at 120 Hz |
| Colour imaging | Colour limited by staining and light source | 8-bit (16.7 million colours) | 10-bit depth (1.07 billion colours) | 10-bit depth (1.07 billion colours) |
| Viewing angle | Limited to eyepiece field of view | 170° | 178° | 178° |
| Uniform luminance technology (ULT) | – | Not specified | Not specified | ULT |
| Colour calibration | – | No professional calibration standards | N/A | sRGB, DICOM GSDF, native calibration |
| Colour gamut | – | Not specified | NTSC 91%, sRGB 109% | NTSC 115%, sRGB 132%, DCI-P3 105% |
| Ambient light presets | – | N/A | N/A | Yes, selectable reading room settings |
| Luminance and contrast | – | 250 cd/m2; 1000:1 contrast ratio | 350 cd/m2, 1000:1 contrast ratio | Calibrated luminance; 850 cd/m2 max; 1000:1 contrast ratio |
| Input signals and ports | – | 1× D-Sub, 1× DVI-D (with HDCP) | 1× DisplayPort 1.2, 2× HDMI 2.0, USB ports | 2× DisplayPort 1.2, USB ports |
| Environmental and safety specs | – | May not comply with medical device regulations | May not comply with medical device regulations | Compliant with multiple international safety standards (FDA 510k) |
COTS, consumer-off-the-shelf; DICOM, digital imaging and communications in medicine; DVI-D, Digital Visual Interface-Digital; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; GSDF, greyscale standard display function; HDCP, high-bandwidth Digital Content Protection; HDMI, High-Definition Multimedia Interface; IPS, in-plane switching; LCD, liquid-crystal display; LED, light-emitting diode; MG, medical grade; N/A, not applicable; PG, professional grade; USB, Universal Serial Bus; W-LED, white light-emitting diode.