Why do we need ten times more colors than the eye can detect in medical grade touchscreen displays? Providing more colors allows for greater accuracy when matching an image with what the eye would actually detect. Doctors and surgeons use precise coloration judgments for guidance through a medical procedure or when making a diagnosis. Accuracy is critical in these situations, so the thinking is the more colors you have available, the better.

It is important to note that medical grade touchscreen LCD monitors with high color displays rely on system-wide support of the 10-bit per color output they utilize. Bit output measures the number of RBG signals the system (a monitor and the computer it is connected to) can process. Without getting deep into the science of it, the more bits you have, the more precise color reads you get. Most commercial-level systems released after 2010 process 8-bit outputs. 10-bit capability generally is reserved for higher-end graphics processors and CPUs. The entire signal path must be taken into consideration—from the digital image file, to the operating system, to the software, to the video card, and finally the LCD touchscreen monitor. 10-bit output must be supported at each level otherwise it will not show up on the monitor.