Sony unveils first medical-grade OLED monitor, surgery gets rendered in all-too-vivid color

OLED screens are virtually everywhere, and they're steadily getting bigger, but it was tough to find any in hospitals until now. While Sony's 25-inch PVM-2551MD might not have the most glamorous name, it's the first and only OLED monitor with FDA approval for use in surgery. No, it's not just to give the doctor something more pleasing (or disgusting) to look at while she's removing a gallstone -- the organic display can be a genuine help for surgery through the higher contrast, virtually non-existent blur and more faithful color reproduction versus the LCDs it's meant to replace. Us patients likely won't see the now-shipping 2551MD for much longer than it takes to go unconscious, so it might be hard to appreciate; if it helps surgeons finish operations faster and with fewer mistakes, however, we could all reap the rewards.

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Sony Announces World's First Medical-Grade Monitor Utilizing Breakthrough OLED Technology

New Surgical Display Expected to Bring Significant Viewing Benefits for Surgical Procedures

PARK RIDGE, N.J., July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Electronics is announcing the world's first medical-grade monitor, model PVM-2551MD, based on Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. The new 25-inch monitor, which recently received FDA 510(k) clearance, is expected to deliver significant benefits for a variety of surgical procedures and combines all the noted advantages of Sony's OLED technology -- true-to-life color reproduction, high resolution, and virtually no motion blur.

"Already showing tremendous advantages for surgeons in other parts of the world, the new Sony OLED monitor will now enhance surgical viewing in the U.S., and become the 'must have' medical display," said George Santanello, general manager, Sony Medical Systems Division. "A number of Sony's key technology resellers and integrators have already evaluated the display and noted the significant benefits of OLED versus traditional LCD, so we're excited about getting the product into operating rooms across the country."

The majority of surgeons, both in and outside the U.S., who were asked to evaluate Sony's OLED monitors, reported that they prefer OLED's advanced technology for its stability of color imaging and high quality contrast. This technology is expected to set a new standard for medical displays, particularly for applications such as endoscopy, arthroscopy, laparoscopy, and thoracoscopy, as well as general surgery procedures.

Sony's OLED technology is already extremely successful in a range of commercial applications such as critical reference monitoring for video production, with more than 10,000 units delivered worldwide. Now the company expects to see the same rapid adoption by the medical industry.

With its much quicker response time than LCD, one of the greatest advantages of the OLED monitor is its ability to display quick motion with virtually no blur. Additionally, the monitor incorporates Sony's revolutionary TRIMASTER EL technology (EL standing for electroluminescence), enabling it to achieve pure black, faithful to the source signal. By providing superb color reproduction, especially for dark images, surgeons can observe very subtle details such as the faint color difference between various tissues and blood vessels. This ability to achieve true-to-life color reproduction and reduced blur is expected to support quicker, more confident decision making for surgeons which is ultimately best for patients.

Other features and advantages of the OLED monitor include the following:

* Self-luminous, emitting no black when displaying images and displaying a high level of contrast
* 10-bit signal processing
* Extremely slim and light-weight design
* Reduced power consumption requirements for increased energy efficiency.

The Sony OLED medical-grade monitor, PVM-2551MD, is currently available for sale with pricing available upon request.