The DICOM Model of the Real World is extended for Display System with the addition of an entity that is separate from the rest of the DICOM Real World objects, as shown in Figure 7.12-1. A Display System is not associated with any specific objects in the existing DICOM Information model, because it is not associated with a specific Patient. One Display System object is included in a Display System IOD.

A Display Subsystem represents the target of a Display QA task such as calibration. For example, a PACS reading station with one color controller driving one display, and 4 grayscale displays each driven by two controllers is modeled as 5 Display Subsystems, each of which can be the target of a Display QA task. A tablet represents one Display System with a Display Device but no externally exposed controller. Although Display Subsystem may include components beyond the Display Device, this Model focuses on the Display Device only.

Figure 7.12-2 illustrates how the composition of Display Subsystems is represented in the Display System IOD.