Pathology Monitor Calibration

Daily QC tool for pathologists performing digital sign-out. Run through each test to verify your display meets minimum standards for diagnostic work.

This tool provides perceptual verification patterns. It does not replace hardware calibration with a colorimeter for initial setup or periodic recalibration.

Grayscale

Verify you can distinguish all 18 luminance steps and detect low-contrast differences.

Stain Colors

Reference patches for H&E, special stains, and IHC chromogens.

Sharpness

Line-pair and Landolt-C patterns to check resolution and focus.

Uniformity

Full-screen solid fields to check for brightness variation or dead pixels.

SMPTE Pattern

Standard test pattern for overall display assessment.

Daily Checklist

Record your QC results with a printable sign-off form.

Grayscale Discrimination

Tests your monitor's ability to render distinct luminance levels, critical for evaluating tissue architecture and nuclear detail.

What to look for: You should see 18 distinct steps from black to white below. Pay special attention to the darkest 3 and lightest 3 patches — if any adjacent patches merge together, your monitor's brightness/contrast needs adjustment.

18-Step Grayscale Ramp (DICOM GSDF-approximated)

Low-Contrast Detection

What to look for: Each square contains a circle that differs from the background by a calibrated amount (CIEDE2000). The top row is 3 ΔE00 (clearly visible). The bottom row is 1 ΔE00 (just-noticeable difference). If you cannot see circles in the bottom row, your monitor may have insufficient contrast for subtle diagnostic features.
3 ΔE00 dark
3 ΔE00 mid-dark
3 ΔE00 mid-light
3 ΔE00 light
1 ΔE00 dark
1 ΔE00 mid-dark
1 ΔE00 mid-light
1 ΔE00 light

Stain Color Reference

Verify that common histological stain colors display correctly. Compare these patches against your lab's known-good reference.

What to look for: Each patch should be a distinct, recognizable color. H&E blue should not appear purple; eosin pink should not appear orange. DAB brown should be clearly distinguished from H&E blue. If colors appear washed out or shifted, check your monitor's color profile (sRGB or calibrated ICC profile).

H&E Stain

IHC Chromogens

Special Stains

Sharpness & Resolution

Verify that fine detail is rendered crisply, essential for evaluating nuclear morphology at high magnification.

What to look for: In the line-pair patterns, alternating black and white lines should be individually resolvable all the way to the finest group. If lines blur together or show moiré artifacts, check your display scaling (should be at native resolution, 100% scaling preferred). The Landolt-C rings should have a clearly visible gap at each orientation.

Luminance Uniformity

Check for uneven brightness, backlight bleed, or dead/stuck pixels across the full screen area.

Instructions: Click each color below, then press F11 or click "Fullscreen" to fill the screen. Slowly scan the entire display surface. Look for bright spots, dark corners, or individual pixels that differ from the surrounding field. Press Escape to exit.
Click a color above, then go fullscreen to inspect.

SMPTE-Style Test Pattern

A comprehensive single-image test covering grayscale, color bars, geometry, and contrast.

What to look for: The 0%/5% and 95%/100% inset patches should be distinguishable. Color bars should appear as distinct, saturated hues. The central crosshatch should have sharp, straight lines. White and black ramps along the bottom should show smooth gradation.

Daily QC Checklist

Record your calibration check results. Print or screenshot for documentation.

      Date:
Check off each item above as you complete the tests.