Effective luminance deterioration of medical liquid crystal displays in clinical use

The objective of this work was to evaluate the maximum luminance (L _max) level of medical liquid crystal displays (LCDs) as a function of backlight hours (BLH) annually. The L _max values for 249 2-megapixel color LCDs (RadiForce RX210, EIZO Corporation) were measured in February 2014, 2015, and 2016. Four near-range luminance meters and the built-in type luminance meters, each with an LCD, were used for the measurements. The average and standard deviation (SD) of BLH measured in 2014 was 15,371 ± 8219 h. Four, twenty, and thirty-nine LCDs failed in the constancy tests performed in February 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively, i.e., they were unable to output 170 cd/m². The SD of L _max increased each year and as BLH became longer. In conclusion, evaluation of L _max as a function of BLH during constancy testing will help predict the decrease in L _max of a clinically used medical color LCD.