JP2008071039A - Image management device and image management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time required to store and back up medical image data. <P>SOLUTION: NASs (Network Attached Storage) 8<SB>1</SB>to 8<SB>N</SB>are categorized by an image management device 4 into a preliminary group A, a group B capable of writing image data, a group C capable of updating only additional information, and a group D capable of reading data. Thus, storing the image data can be achieved only by accessing the NASs belonging to the group B capable of writing image data, leading to a reduction in the time required for storage. For backup, only the NASs that belonged to the groups B, C during the previous backup and the NASs that belonged to the group A during the previous backup but belong to the group B for the current backup need to be backed up, leading to a reduction in the time required for backup. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image management apparatus and an image management system that store medical image data, and more particularly to an image management apparatus and an image management system that efficiently manage medical image data.

  Conventionally, information networking has been promoted mainly for information sharing and efficient information management in hospitals. An image management system that centrally manages medical images captured by various modalities such as an X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, a nuclear medicine apparatus, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an information communication network This is a typical example. In such a system, the various modalities, a so-called storage device that stores medical image data, and a client terminal such as a personal computer that displays medical images are connected to the information communication network. The medical image data transmitted from the modality via the information communication network is temporarily stored in the storage device and periodically backed up to a medium or the like. The medical image data stored in the storage device is transmitted to the client terminal via the information communication network and displayed on the screen.

  One of the storage devices of the information communication network as described above is NAS (Network Attached Storage). FIG. 11 shows an example of a logical configuration of an image management system constructed by NAS. As shown in FIG. 11, an image management system 101 includes a modality 1, an image management device 3, a plurality of image display devices 5 as client terminals, and an image backup device 7 in a LAN (Local Area Network) 11 as a communication network. Is built by being connected.

A plurality of NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N (N is an integer of 2 or more) are connected to the image management apparatus 3. The image management apparatus 3 stores the medical image data sent from the modality 1 in any of the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N. When storing the medical image data, the image management apparatus 3 averages the medical image data for each examination unit in order to distribute the NAS load, and accesses all the connected NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N. These free capacities are checked, the NAS having the largest free capacity is identified, and image data is stored in the identified NAS. Then, the image management apparatus 3 periodically backs up the medical image data stored in all the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N whose contents stored during the backup interval are updated to the image backup apparatus 7. ing.

Further, when there is a request for transmission of medical image data from the image display device 5, the image management device 3 reads the medical image data from any of the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N and sends the medical image data to the image display device 5 for the medical image data. Sending image data. As described above, since medical image data is distributed and stored in each NAS, the load of each NAS is distributed even when accessed from each of a plurality of image display devices 5 that use images. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-234557 A

  As described above, in the conventional image management system, when storing medical image data, it is necessary to once access all NAS in order to check the free space of each NAS. Inconvenience that it took time to store.

  In addition, when backing up image data or the like, all NAS whose contents of medical image data stored from the previous backup are updated are to be backed up. As described above, since new medical image data is distributed and stored in each NAS, the number of NAS to be backed up becomes very large, and the overhead of media exchange for backing up data increases. There was a disadvantage that the time required for backup increased.

  An object of the present invention is made in view of the above circumstances, and is to provide an image management apparatus and an image management system capable of reducing the time required to store image data.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image management apparatus and an image management system that can reduce the time required for data backup.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is an image management device that manages a plurality of storage devices for storing image information composed of incidental information and image data,
A group management unit for classifying the plurality of storage devices into at least a group in which image information can be written and a group in which writing of image data is prohibited;
The image management apparatus includes a data management unit that selects a storage apparatus having the largest available capacity from among the storage apparatuses belonging to the group into which the image information can be written, and writes the image information to the selected storage apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, only the storage device managed as a group in which image data can be written by the group management unit is a candidate for the storage destination of the image data. Thus, only the storage apparatus managed as a writable group can be used. As a result, it is not necessary to access all the storage devices and check the free capacity, so that the time required for storing image data can be shortened.

  In addition, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to perform data backup for only the storage devices belonging to the group into which data can be written between the previous backup and the current backup. The time required for backup can be shortened.

  Preferred embodiments of an image management apparatus and an image management system according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a logical configuration of an image management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an image management system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a modality 1, an image management device 4, an image display device 5, an image backup device 7, a LAN (Local Area Network) 11, N (N is an integer of 2 or more) NAS (Network Attached Storage) 8 ₁ to 8 _N are provided. The modality 1, the image management device 4, the plurality of image display devices 5, and the image backup device 7 are connected to the LAN 11 and can communicate with each other. Actually, a plurality of modalities 1 may be connected to the LAN 11, but only one of them is shown in FIG. 1 in order to prevent the drawing from being complicated. Also, NAS (Network Attached Storage) 8 ₁ to 8 _N are actually connected to the LAN 11 and transmit / receive data to / from the image management apparatus 4 via the LAN 11. In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N are connected to the image management apparatus 3, and the following description will be given.

  The modality 1 is a medical diagnostic apparatus that observes a subject and generates medical image data (hereinafter abbreviated as “image data”) from the observation result. When the image data is created by the modality 1, the image data is accompanied by the patient ID, examination ID, series ID, image number, slice thickness information, imaging region information, etc. corresponding to the image data. Become. These pieces of information are hereinafter referred to as “accompanying information”. Further, the image data and the accompanying information may be collectively referred to as “image information”. This incidental information conforms to the DICOM standard, which is a communication and storage standard for medical images. The image data generated by the modality 1 and its accompanying information are sent to the image management apparatus 4 via the LAN 11.

The image management apparatus 4 is a computer that manages _N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N. More specifically, the image management device 4 stores the image data sent from the modality 1 via the LAN 11 and its supplementary information in the NAS 8 ₁ to 8 _N , and in response to a request from the image display device 5, the image display device 5, the requested image data and its accompanying information are transmitted via the LAN 11. Further, the image management apparatus 4 periodically backs up the data stored in the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N to the image backup apparatus 7 via the LAN ₁₁ .

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram inside the image management apparatus 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the image management apparatus 4 includes a group management unit 41, a data management unit 43, a backup management unit 45, and a database 47. The image management apparatus 4 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, and includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM (all not shown). These functions are realized by the CPU executing programs corresponding to the group management unit 41, the data management unit 43, the backup management unit 45, and the database 47.

The group management unit 41 manages the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N by classifying them into four types of groups A to D having different attributes. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, NAS 8 ₁ to 8 _M1 among NAS 8 ₁ to 8 _N are classified into group A, NAS 8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 are classified into group B, and NAS8 _{M2 + 1.} to 8 _M3 are classified into groups C, NAS8 _M3 + 1 _{~8 M4} are classified into groups D. Here, M1, M2, M3, and M4 are integers, and it is assumed that there is a relationship of 0 <M1 <M2 <M3 <M4 <N.

  Group A is a spare NAS group. Group B is a NAS group into which image data and supplementary information can be written. In the present embodiment, image data and its accompanying information are stored for NAS belonging to this group. Group C is a NAS group in which only incidental information can be rewritten. For NAS belonging to this group, writing of image data is prohibited, and only the contents of the accompanying information can be updated. Group D is a group of NAS that can only be read. Writing of image data and its accompanying information is prohibited for this group of NAS.

Normally, NAS8 _k (k = 1, 2, 3,... N) transitions so that the group to which it belongs is group A → group B → group C → group D. The group management unit 41 determines to which group each NAS should belong as necessary, and determines a group to which the NAS belongs according to the determination result.

In this system, NAS is not classified into four groups from the beginning. At the beginning of the system operation, the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N are classified into a spare group A and a group B into which image data and associated information can be written. By transferring the reduced NAS to the group C and finally to the group D, the NAS is eventually classified into four groups. Note that the number of NAS belonging to the group B at the beginning of system operation can be specified by the operator of the image management apparatus 4.

  In this embodiment, the period during which the NAS belonging to the group C belongs to the group C is limited. Hereinafter, this period is referred to as “cable information changeable period”. The group management unit 41 starts time measurement at the time when the NAS shifts from the group B to the group C, and shifts the NAS whose time has passed the period for changing the incidental information from the group C to the group D. This supplementary information changeable period can be specified in advance by the operator of the image management apparatus 4 at the beginning of system operation.

  Which NAS belongs to the group is described in the group management table 51 provided in the database 47. The group management unit 41 shifts the NAS belonging to a certain group to another group by rewriting the contents of the group management table 51. That is, the group management unit 41 uses the group management table 51 to manage NAS groups.

The data management unit 43 receives the image data and the accompanying information from the modality 1 and stores them in the NASs 8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 belonging to the group B. At this time, the data management unit 43 refers to the group management table 51 of the database 47 and reads that the NAS belonging to the group B is NAS8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 . Then, the data management unit 43 accesses each NAS belonging to the group B and inquires about its free capacity. Then, the image data and its supplementary information are stored in the NAS having the largest available capacity among the NASs 8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 belonging to the group B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the NASs 8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 are accessed for checking each free capacity, so that the time required for the access is shortened.

Further, the data management unit 43 may update the incidental information attached to the already stored image data among the data stored in the NAS 8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _{M2 and} 8 _{M2 + 1} to 8 _M3 .

  The data management unit 43 registers information indicating in which NAS the image data is stored in the data management table 53 of the database 47. In addition, since the newly stored data and the updated data are to be backed up as described later, that is, differential data, the data management unit 43 stores information on the differential data to be backed up (corresponding NAS and its storage area). , It is registered in the backup management table 55 as “backup history”.

For example, the backup management unit 45 periodically backs up the data stored in the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N to the image backup device 7. In order to perform efficient backup, the backup management unit 45 refers to the backup management table 55 and performs data backup only for the NAS in which the content of data to be saved has been updated since the previous backup.

  The backup management unit 45 backs up only the difference data from the previous backup for each NAS. In the backup management table 55, as described above, information on differential data whose contents have changed from the previous backup time is registered in each NAS, and the differential data to be backed up in each NAS is grasped from the information. It becomes possible.

  Further, the number of devices to be backed up is designated in the backup management unit 45 in advance. The number of devices to be backed up is designated in advance by the operator. When the number of NAS actually required for backup exceeds the specified number, the backup management unit 45 determines the number of NAS to be backed up by moving data between NASs. To reduce.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the image display device 5 issues a request to read the image data stored in the image management device 4 to the image management device 4 in accordance with an operation input by the operator. The data management unit 43 constituting the image management device 4 reads the image data targeted for the request from any NAS and sends it to the image display device 5 with reference to the data management table 53.

  The image display device 5 displays a medical image corresponding to the sent image data on the screen. An operator who has seen the image displayed on the image display device 5 finds an error in the incidental information displayed together with the image, and is corrected by an operation input of the image display device 5 in order to rewrite the incidental information. When the supplementary information is rewritten and confirmation is instructed, the supplementary information rewritten by the operation input is sent to the image management apparatus 4. The image management apparatus 4 updates the corresponding incidental information stored in the NAS to the incidental information sent.

The image backup device 7 is a device capable of writing backup data to a medium (for example, a removable disk such as an optical disk) as a backup destination recording medium. The image backup device 7 backs up the image data stored in the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N and the accompanying information under the management of the backup management unit 45 constituting the image management device 4.

Each of the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N is a file server including a file system and a storage device (both not shown) that perform transmission and reception of image data and supplementary information with the image management device 4 in units of files. Save the accompanying information. The NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N write and read image data and the like under the instruction of the image management apparatus 4. This NAS can be added as appropriate.

  Next, a specific operation of the image management system 100 will be described focusing on a flowchart. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example of the process of the data management unit 43, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a flowchart of an example of the process of the group management unit 41, and FIG. 6 shows a backup management unit 45. A flowchart of an example of the process is shown. FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of a data write operation by the data management unit 43. FIGS. 8A and 8B show an operation of updating incidental information by the data management unit 43. An example is schematically shown, FIG. 9 schematically shows the flow of group management by the group management unit 41, and FIG. 10A shows a diagram for explaining the NAS to be backed up. FIG. 10B schematically shows an example of data movement at the time of backup.

  First, the writing operation of image data and its accompanying information by the image management apparatus 4 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a processing procedure of the data management unit 43 constituting the image management apparatus 3 at the time of writing the image data and its accompanying information.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step 201, the data management unit 43 is in a waiting state for receiving data to be saved from the modality 1 or the image display device 5. When the data is received, the data management unit 43 proceeds to step 203. In step 203, it is determined whether or not the sent data is image data. If this determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 205, and if not, the process proceeds to step 215.

Steps 205 to 214 are image data writing processes. First, in step 205, the NAS belonging to the current group B is read with reference to the group management table 51. Here, when grouped as shown in FIG. 1, NAS8 _{M1 + 1} to 8 _M2 are read out. Then, at step 207, it accesses each NAS8 _M1 + 1 ~8 _M2 belonging to the group B, inquires the space. In the next step 209, the NAS having the maximum free capacity is specified. In step 211, the image data is stored in the specified NAS.

For example, suppose that the NAS belonging to group B is NAS 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ , 8 ₄ as shown in FIG. The data management unit 43 accesses the NASs 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ , and 8 ₄ as indicated by thin line arrows (step 207). Then, each NAS 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ , and 8 ₄ transmits its own free space to the data management unit 43 as indicated by the dashed arrow. Then, the data management unit 43, as indicated by the bold arrow, the most free space to store the image data and supplementary information thereof to the large NAS8 ₃ (step 211). As can be seen from FIG. 7, the data management unit 43 only needs to access the NAS belonging to the group B in order to grasp the free space of the NAS, so the time for obtaining the free space can be shortened and data can be saved. The time required can be reduced as a whole.

  The next subroutine 213 is a group management table update process. In this subroutine 213, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, in step 301, the data management unit 43 transmits a group update processing activation command to the group management unit 41. This activation command includes information on the free capacity of each NAS included in group B. Upon receiving this command, the group management unit 41 starts processing. First, in step 401, it is determined whether or not there is a NAS having no free space in which image data can be written. Only when this determination is affirmed, step 403 and step 405 are executed in this order.

  In step 403, the group management unit 41 rewrites the NAS having no free space, rewrites the group management table 51, and moves from group B to group C. Further, in step 405, the group management table 51 is rewritten so as to shift from the group A to the group B by the number of the corresponding NAS. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, when there are two NASs to be transferred from the group B to the group C, the group management unit 41 adds two new NASs from the group A to the group. Move to B. Since the NAS migrated to the group B corresponds to the NAS 3) described later at the time of backup, in this step 405, the group management unit 41 stores the NAS migrated to the group B in the backup management table 55. The fact that it is a NAS of 3) is registered.

  After the determination in step 401 is denied or in step 407 performed after execution of step 405, the group management unit 41 returns a processing end notification to the data management unit 43. The data management unit 43 is waiting for reception, and upon receiving the processing end notification, ends the subroutine 213.

  Returning to FIG. 3, after the subroutine 213 is completed, the data management unit 43 proceeds to step 214 and registers information such as the storage area of the NAS in which the image data and the additional information are newly stored in the data management table 53. , “Backup history” is registered in the backup management table 55 and the database 47 is updated. After step 214, the data management unit 43 returns to step 201 and waits for reception.

  On the other hand, Steps 215 to 231 performed after the determination in Step 203 is negative are update processing of incidental information.

First, in step 215, the data management unit 43 reads NAS belonging to groups B and C from the group management table 51. Here, in the example shown in FIG. 8 (A), as a NAS belonging to group B, is read NAS8 _2, 8 _3, as a NAS belonging to the group C, NAS8 ₄ is read. Then, in the next step 217, it is determined whether or not image data whose auxiliary information is updated exists in the NAS belonging to the groups B and C. If this determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 219, and if not, the process proceeds to step 221.

  In step 219, the data management unit 43 updates the incidental information attached to the image data stored in the NAS belonging to either group B or C, as shown in FIG. After step 219 is completed, the process returns to step 201 and again waits for reception.

  On the other hand, in step 221 after the determination in step 217 is denied, the data management unit 43 reads the NAS of group D from the group management table 51, and in the next step 223, the NAS that stores the additional information to be updated is stored. Is identified. In the next step 225, the NAS of the group B is accessed and the free capacity of each NAS is inquired. In step 227, the NAS having the maximum free capacity is specified. In the next step 229, as shown in FIG. 8B, from the NAS that stores the supplementary information to the NAS that belongs to the group B and has the largest free capacity, the corresponding supplementary information and the supplementary information are changed. Move the corresponding image data. In the next step 231, the data management unit 43 rewrites the data management table 53 and the backup management table 55 in accordance with the movement of the data, and updates the database 47.

  Next, a process for migrating a NAS belonging to group C to a NAS belonging to group D will be described. This process is performed periodically. As shown in FIG. 5, in step 501, it is determined whether there is a NAS that has passed the supplementary information changeable period among NAS belonging to group C. Only when this determination is affirmed, the group management unit 41 rewrites the group management table 51 so that the corresponding NAS shifts from the group C to the group D in step 503. As a result of this processing, as shown in FIG. 9, the NAS whose supplementary information changeable period has elapsed shifts from group C to group D.

  Next, the operation at the time of backup of the image management system 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the backup management unit 45 during backup. As shown in FIG. 6, first, in step 601, the backup management table 55 of the database 47 is referenced to identify the NAS to be backed up.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the following three NAS are applicable as the NAS to be backed up.
1) NAS that belonged to group B at the time of the previous backup
2) NAS that belonged to group C at the time of the previous backup
3) NAS that was in group A at the time of the previous backup, but belongs to group B at the time of this backup
The backup management table 55 includes the NAS corresponding to 1), 2) and 3) at the time of the previous backup and the data stored in the NAS between the previous backup and the current backup. The newly written image data, the accompanying information thereof, the updated accompanying information and other data are stored as “backup history”. Based on these pieces of information, the backup management unit 45 identifies the number of NAS devices to be backed up.

  In the next step 603, it is determined whether or not the number of NAS devices to be backed up exceeds a specified number. This specified number is assumed to be specified in advance by the operator as described above. If this determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 615, and if not, the process proceeds to step 605.

  In step 615, the backup is executed as it is, and in step 617, the information such as NAS corresponding to the above-mentioned “backup history” (1), 2), 3) is stored in the backup management table 55, and the processing is terminated. To do. This backup history is referenced during the next backup.

  On the other hand, Steps 605 to 613 executed when the determination is negative in Step 603 is processing that is performed when the number of NAS devices that require backup exceeds the specified number. First, in step 605, the NAS classified into 2) (the NAS belonging to the group C at the time of the previous backup as shown in FIG. 10 (B)), and the incidental information from the time of the previous backup, The changed image data and its accompanying information are moved to the NAS having the largest free space. In the next step 607, the migration source NAS is migrated to the NAS of group D. As shown in FIG. 10B, among data stored in the NAS belonging to 2), data (difference data) that may have been rewritten from the previous backup is less likely to be updated. In general, only the incidental information is required, and the amount of data required for backup is generally smaller than that of the NAS belonging to 1).

  In the next step 609, it is determined whether or not the number of NAS to be backed up exceeds a specified number. If this determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 611. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 615, and the backup is executed as it is. In step 617, the “backup history” is stored in the backup management table 55, and the process is terminated. . In this case, in step 615, for the NAS that is the data transfer destination in step 605, finally, the image data newly added from the previous backup to the current backup and the accompanying information are added. The image data written by the data movement in step 605 and the data with the accompanying information are backed up as overall difference data.

  If the determination in step 609 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 611. In step 611, the NAS classified as 1) (the NAS belonging to group B at the time of the previous backup as shown in FIG. 10B) and newly stored from the time of the previous backup. Image data and incidental information (difference data) are moved to the NAS with the largest free space. As shown in FIG. 10B, in the NAS belonging to 1), data (difference data) that may have been rewritten since the previous backup includes new image data and the like. Generally, the necessary data amount is larger than that of the NAS belonging to 2).

  In the next step 613, the migration source NAS is migrated to the group D. After step 613 is completed, the process proceeds to step 615, where data backup is executed for the number of NASs within the specified number. In step 617, "backup history" such as information on the NAS that was the target of the current backup is saved. The process is terminated. In this case, in step 615, for the NAS that is the data transfer destination in step 611, finally, the image data newly added from the previous backup time to the current backup time and the accompanying information are added. The image data newly written by the data movement in step 605 and the data with the accompanying information are backed up as overall difference data.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, NAS update data (only incidental information) that belonged to group C at the time of the previous backup is moved first, and the number of backup target devices still exceeds the specified number. The update data of the NAS data that belonged to the group B at the time of the previous backup is moved only at the time of backup. With this procedure, if data with a small amount of data is moved first and the number of devices to be backed up falls below the specified number, data will not be moved. Can be reduced as much as possible.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, only the NAS managed as the group B into which the image data can be written by the group management unit 41 is a candidate for the storage destination of the image data. As a result, only the NAS managed as the writable group B can be checked. As a result, it is not necessary to access all the NAS and check the free capacity, so that the time required to store the image data can be shortened.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the group management unit 41, when there is a NAS having no free space for storing image data among the NASs belonging to the group B in which image data can be written, Exclude from Then, the number of NAS belonging to the spare group A is shifted from the spare group A to the group B into which image data can be written by the number of NAS excluded from the writable group B. In this way, the number of NAS belonging to the group B to which image data can be written is always constant, and image data can be stored without delay.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the group management unit 41 shifts the NAS excluded from the group B in which the image data can be written to the group C in which only the supplementary information attached to the image data can be rewritten, and the data management unit 43 only rewrites the supplementary information for a NAS belonging to a group in which only the supplementary information can be rewritten. In this way, it is possible to update the supplementary information before the supplementary information change period elapses even for the image data written to the NAS having no free space where new image data can be written.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the group management unit 41 determines that the NAS has a finite number of additional information changeable periods belonging to the group C in which only the additional information can be rewritten, The data management unit 43 shifts from C to a group D that can only be read, and the data management unit 43 only reads data from a NAS that belongs to a group that can only be read. In this way, the NAS whose supplementary information changeable period has elapsed can be automatically transferred from group C to group D.

  In the above embodiment, the supplementary information changeable period is specified by the operator in advance. However, the image management apparatus 4 further includes a period calculation unit, and the supplementary information changeable period is included in the period calculation unit. May be automatically calculated. For example, in this period calculation unit, the incidental information can be changed based on statistical data such as time data from when the image data is stored until it is read out to the image display device 5, and an average value or standard deviation of the time. The period can be calculated.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the group management unit 41 writes the supplementary information, the image data corresponding to the supplementary information includes a group B in which the image data can be written and a group C in which only the supplementary information can be rewritten. If the image data corresponding to the auxiliary information is not stored in the NAS belonging to any of the above, the image data can be written from the NAS in which the image data is stored. The data management unit 43 rewrites the incidental information stored in the NAS to which the image data is moved to new incidental information. In this way, it is possible to update the incidental information for image data stored in a NAS that can only be read.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the backup management unit 45 that periodically backs up the data stored in the NAS in which the content of the stored data is different from the previous backup is further provided. When the number of NAS to be backed up exceeds the specified number, the backup management unit 45 reduces the number of storage devices to be backed up by moving data between NAS. In this way, the number of NAS to be backed up can be limited to the designated number of backup devices, so the time required for backup can be shortened.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the NAS to be backed up is 1) the NAS belonging to the group B in which image data can be written at the time of the previous backup, and 2) only incidental information can be rewritten at the time of the previous backup. The NAS that belonged to the group C, and 3) the NAS that belonged to the writable group B were included between the previous backup and the current backup. When the number of NAS to be backed up exceeds the specified number of backup devices, the backup management unit 45 moves the data stored in the NAS belonging to 2) to the NAS belonging to 3). Of the data stored in the NAS belonging to 2), the only data that may have been rewritten from the previous backup is only incidental information, and the amount of data actually updated is generally small. Therefore, in this way, it is possible to reduce the number of NAS to be backed up, and to reduce the amount of data movement at the time of backup at the time of the reduction, thereby reducing the time required for backup. Can do.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the backup management unit 45 specifies the number of NAS to be backed up after the data stored in the NAS belonging to 2) is moved to the NAS belonging to 3). If the number of backup devices is exceeded, the data stored in the NAS belonging to 1) is moved to the NAS belonging to 3). In this way, the time required for backup can be shortened by setting the number of backup devices to be equal to or less than the specified number of backup devices.

  In this embodiment, the backup management unit 45 moves the data to the NAS having the largest free capacity among the NASs belonging to 3). In this way, data backup can be performed with the load of each NAS dispersed as much as possible.

  In the above embodiment, the designated number that is the upper limit value of the number of backup devices is set in advance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the load of each NAS at the time of past backup is monitored, and based on the monitoring result. Thus, a device number calculation unit for calculating the designated number of NAS to be backed up may be provided in the image management device 4.

  In this embodiment, the backup management unit 45 sets the data to be backed up as difference data between the data currently stored in the NAS and the previously backed up data. In this way, the size of data to be backed up can be reduced and the time required for backup can be shortened compared to backing up all data.

  In the above embodiment, the group C that can update only the supplementary information is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the data may be classified into a spare group, a group in which data can be written, and a group in which data can only be read.

  Note that the storage device targeted by the present invention is not limited to NAS. The present invention is applicable to any system in which medical image data is averaged for each examination unit and distributed and stored in a plurality of storage devices. Accordingly, it is possible to employ a communication network other than the LAN 11.

Furthermore, the image management system 100 according to the present embodiment can be an image management system including the image management device 4 and the NASs 8 ₁ to 8 _N when the viewpoint is changed. According to this image management system, it is possible to efficiently manage medical image data and its accompanying information.

  The image management system 100 according to the present embodiment is a system further including an image display device 5 that is connected to the image management device 4 via the LAN 11 and displays image data managed by the image management device 4 when the viewpoint is changed. There can be. According to this image system, the image management apparatus 4 can efficiently store and manage image data. Therefore, the medical image can be displayed and the supplementary information can be efficiently rewritten on the image display apparatus 5. Can do.

  In another aspect, the present invention is an image management system that further includes an image backup device 7 that is connected to the image management device 4 via the LAN 11 and backs up image data managed by the image management device 4. it can.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a logical configuration of an image management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the internal structure of an image management apparatus. It is a flowchart of the process sequence at the time of the data preservation | save of an image management apparatus. 10 is a flowchart of a group update subroutine. It is a flowchart of the process which changes NAS which passed the incidental information change possible period to NAS which can only be read. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a backup management part. It is a figure which shows typically the preservation | save process of image data. It is a figure which shows the update process of incidental information typically. It is a figure which shows a backup process typically. FIG. 10A is a diagram for explaining a NAS that needs to be backed up, and FIG. 10B is an example of a logical configuration of a communication network in which the NAS is adopted. It is a figure which shows the logic structure of the conventional image management system.

Explanation of symbols

1 Modality 3 and 4 Image management device 5 Image display device 7 Image backup device 8 ₁ to 8 _N NAS
11 LAN
41 Group management unit 43 Data management unit 45 Backup management unit 47 Database 51 Group management table 53 Data management table 55 Backup management table 100, 101 Image management system A, B, C, D Group

Claims (16)

An image management device that manages a plurality of storage devices for storing image information composed of incidental information and image data,
A group management unit that classifies the plurality of storage devices into at least a group in which image information can be written and a group in which writing of image data is prohibited;
A data management unit that selects a storage device having the largest available capacity from among the storage devices belonging to the group into which the image information can be written, and writes the image information to the selected storage device;
An image management apparatus comprising: The group management unit
Classify storage devices that are not storing images into storage groups different from the above two groups,
If there is a storage device with no free space for storing the image information among the storage devices belonging to the group in which the image information can be written, exclude the storage device from the group in which the image information can be written,
The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage apparatus belonging to the spare group is migrated to a group in which the image information can be written. The group management unit
The storage device excluded from the writable group is migrated to a group where writing of the image data is prohibited,
The data management unit
The image management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information can be rewritten to a storage apparatus belonging to a group in which writing of the image data is prohibited. The group management unit
The storage device has a finite period belonging to a group in which writing of the image data is prohibited,
The storage device that has passed the period is moved from the group where writing of image data is prohibited to the group where writing of image information is prohibited,
The data management unit
4. The image management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein writing of image information is prohibited for a storage apparatus belonging to a group where writing of the image information is prohibited.   The image management apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a period calculation unit that calculates the period based on a statistical amount of time from when the image information is stored to when it is read again. The data management unit
When rewriting the incidental information of the image information stored in the storage device of the group where writing of the image information is prohibited,
Moving the image information that is the target of rewriting the incidental information from the storage device storing the image information to a storage device belonging to a group in which the image information can be written;
The image management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the supplementary information is rewritten with respect to the image information stored in a storage apparatus to which the image data is moved.   The image management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a backup management unit that periodically backs up data stored in a storage apparatus that stores different data content from the previous backup. The backup management unit
The image management according to claim 7, wherein when the number of storage devices to be backed up exceeds a specified number, the number of storage devices to be backed up is reduced by moving data between the storage devices. apparatus. The storage device to be backed up includes
A first storage device belonging to a group in which image information can be written at the time of the previous backup, a second storage device belonging to a group in which writing of image data is prohibited at the time of the previous backup, A third storage device that belongs to a group in which image information can be written is included between the backup time and the current backup time.
The backup management unit
The data stored in the second storage device is moved to the third storage device when the number of storage devices to be backed up exceeds a specified number. Image management device. The backup management unit
Even after the data stored in the storage device belonging to the group in which the writing of the image data is prohibited is moved to the third storage device, the number of storage devices to be backed up is equal to the designated number of backup devices. If it has exceeded,
The image management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein data stored in a storage apparatus belonging to the first group is moved to the third storage apparatus. The backup management unit
The image management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the data is moved to a storage apparatus having the largest free space among the third storage apparatuses.   The image management apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a specified number calculation unit that monitors a load on each storage device at the time of past backup and calculates a specified number based on the monitoring result. The backup management unit
The image management apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the data to be backed up is difference data between data currently stored in a storage apparatus and data backed up last time. An image management device according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
An image management system comprising the plurality of storage devices.   The image management system according to claim 14, further comprising an image display device connected to the image management device via a communication network and displaying image data managed by the image management device.   16. The image management system according to claim 14, further comprising an image backup device that is connected to the image management device via a communication network and backs up image information managed by the image management device.

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