Introduction: The human eye perceives many more shades of colour (about a million) than shades of gray (about 30). Different colours affect the individual differently due to emotional and cognitive associations. Images can be easily converted to grayscale or colour using various algorithms. This also changes their storage size: colour images take up three times more space than grayscale images. Intra- and extracranial hemorrhages are bleedings in the cranial cavity and are often the result of traumatic injury. They are best shown with a native CT scan of the head. Pulmonary embolism is a pathology of the pulmonary arteries blocked by a clot, generally originating in the lower extremities. It causes blockage of the blood supply to part of the lungs. Purpose: In the research, we determined whether pathology on CT images is better detected in colour palettes than in grayscale. Methods: We selected 40 different CT examinations from the image database at the Faculty of Health Sciences: 20 CTA PA and 20 CT head. We selected 10 pathological and 10 healthy patients in each group. Grayscale images were converted to green and red in syngo.via with LUT tables. We made an anonymized and randomized list of 120 images for each rater separately. 5 evaluators participated in the research, including 4 radiological engineers and one radiology specialist. In the experiment itself, we asked them about the presence of pathology, the appropriateness of displaying anatomical structures, and in which colour palette they think they can see the pathology best. Results: We discovered that the colour palette does not significantly affect the visibility of the pathology, although we demonstrated statistically significant differences between specific colour palettes in images of pulmonary embolisms. Discussion and conclusion: The investigations that have already been carried out have confirmed that colours do not significantly affect the perception of pathology, although this could theoretically be true due to the way the human eye perceives shades. The evaluators highlighted the green colour palette the most. They think it would make sense for it to be put into practise alongside the existing gray palette.
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