Purpose: As pathology departments around the world contemplate digital microscopy for primary diagnosis, making an informed choice regarding display procurement is very challenging in the absence of defined minimum standards. In order to help inform the decision, we aimed to conduct an evaluation of displays with a range of technical specifications and sizes.

Approach: We invited histopathologists within our institution to take part in a survey evaluation of eight short-listed displays. Pathologists reviewed a single haematoxylin and eosin whole slide image of a benign nevus on each display and gave a single score to indicate their preference in terms of image quality and size of the display.

Results: Thirty-four pathologists took part in the display evaluation experiment. The preferred display was the largest and had the highest technical specifications (11.8-MP resolution, 2100  cd  /  m² maximum luminance). The least preferred display had the lowest technical specifications (2.3-MP resolution, 300  cd  /  m² maximum luminance). A trend was observed toward an increased preference for displays with increased luminance and resolution.

Conclusions: This experiment demonstrates a preference for large medical-grade displays with the high luminance and high resolution. As cost becomes implicated in procurement, significantly less expensive medical-grade displays with slightly lower technical specifications may be the most cost-effective option.