JP5544241B2 - Medical image file copying method and medical image file copying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for copying medical image files from a hard disk to a digital image storage medium (hereinafter simply referred to as “storage medium”) such as a Blu-ray disc.

  Medical images are measured by diagnostic imaging devices such as an X-ray CT device, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, and ultrasound diagnostic device, all of which display a tomographic image of the examination region of the subject on the monitor for diagnosis. It is something to offer. The medical image is measured from the image diagnostic apparatus and is generated as medical image data. The medical image data is added with file management information and stored as a medical image file in the medical image storage unit. The medical image storage unit is a hard disk or a memory.

  When copying a medical image file from a medical image storage unit to a storage medium, the storage contents of the medical image file on the storage medium are managed by file management information indicating the directory of the DICOM standard file called DICOMDIR of the medical image file. Yes.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when deleting a medical image file from a storage medium, if the entity of the medical image file and DICOMDIR of the medical image file do not match, a unique identifier is extracted from the header information of the medical image file to be deleted. The contents of the medical image file and the file management information are matched.

JP 11-96731 A

  However, in the above prior art, since it is necessary to access the unique identifier and file management information on the storage medium for each medical image file, the total access time to the storage medium has increased. In particular, in a situation where a Blu-ray disc having a storage capacity several tens of times that of a DVD or a hologram disc having a storage capacity several hundred times that of a DVD is being developed, the total access time of the storage medium can be reduced. It was a problem to be solved.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for copying a medical image file that can maintain the speed of saving to a storage medium even when the storage capacity of the medical image file increases when the medical image file is copied. .

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a medical image file copying apparatus capable of maintaining the storage speed of a medical image file even when the storage capacity of the medical image file is increased. It is in.

  The medical image file copying method of the present invention includes a medical image file storage step of adding file management information to the medical image data generated by the medical image generation unit and storing it as a medical image file in the first medical image storage unit, A copy target selection step of selecting a target to be copied from the first medical image storage unit to a storage medium as a copy target, and the medical image file based on the file management information corresponding to the copy target. A medical image file copying step for copying from the first medical image storage unit to a storage medium, the method for copying a medical image file, wherein the medical image file is transferred from the first medical image storage unit to the storage medium. A file management information update step for updating the file management information in the second medical image storage unit every time copying is performed, and all the medical images to be copied A file management information copying step for copying the file management information of the second medical image storage unit from the second medical image storage unit to the storage medium at the stage when copying of the image file is completed. Features.

  The medical image file copying apparatus of the present invention includes a first medical image storage unit that stores file management information by adding file management information to the medical image data generated by the medical image generation unit, and the medical image A medical medium comprising: a storage medium for copying a file from the first medical image storage unit; and an input unit for selecting a target for copying the medical image file from the first medical image storage unit to the storage medium as a copy target An image file copying apparatus, comprising: a second medical image storage unit that updates and stores file management information each time the medical image file is copied from the first medical image storage unit to a storage medium; A control unit that copies the file management information of the second medical image storage unit from the second medical image storage unit to the storage medium when copying of all the medical image files is completed It is characterized by having these.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method of copying a medical image file that can maintain the speed of saving to a storage medium even when the storage capacity of the medical image file increases when the medical image file is copied.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a medical image file copying apparatus capable of maintaining the speed of saving to a storage medium even if the medical image file storage capacity increases when copying a medical image file.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an X-ray CT apparatus that employs a medical image file copying method and apparatus according to the present invention. The figure explaining the data flow at the time of copying the medical image file in the DICOM specification from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the data flow procedure of FIG. The figure explaining the data flow for evacuating the memory content of the storage medium 104M. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the data flow procedure of FIG.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an X-ray CT apparatus employing a medical image file copying method and apparatus according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the X-ray CT apparatus has a scanner gantry unit 101, a bed 102, and a CT console unit 103.

  The scanner gantry unit 101 holds an X-ray source that irradiates the subject with X-rays and an X-ray detector (not shown) that detects the transmitted X-rays of the subject so as to be rotatable around the subject. The source and X-ray detector rotate, and the X-ray source emits X-rays.

  The bed 102 is a surface on which the subject lies, and the top plate of the bed 102 is movable in the body axis direction of the subject. It is possible to position the photographing position.

  The CT console 103 controls the scanner gantry unit 101, the bed 102, the external storage device 104, and the monitor unit 105, which are components of the X-ray CT apparatus, according to the input parameters of the input unit 106. ) Will be described later.

  The external storage device 104 loads the storage medium 104M into the drive, stores the medical image file and the file management information in the storage medium 104M, and stores it in the storage medium 104M in advance using a medical image diagnostic apparatus such as another X-ray CT apparatus. The stored medical image file and file management information are reproduced. The storage medium 104M is an example of a storage medium capable of storing / reproducing medical image files and file management information in a larger amount than a DVD-RAM disk currently mainly distributed, such as a Blu-ray disc, a hologram disc, and a portable hard disk. explain.

  The monitor unit 105 displays the medical image file as a medical image.

  The input unit 106 inputs an imaging condition (KV, mAs, scan time) of the X-ray CT apparatus using a keyboard, a mouse, a tracking ball, or other pointing device (not shown).

Next, a detailed configuration example of the CT console 103 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the CT console 103 includes a gantry interface (I / F) 1031, a bed system I / F 1032, a hard disk 1033, an external storage I / F 1034, and a display system I / F 1035. , Input system I / F 1036, memory 1037, and CPU 1038.

  The gantry I / F 1031 is an I / F that delivers the control code of the CPU 1038 to the scanner gantry unit 101. The bed system I / F 1032 is an I / F that delivers the control code of the CPU 1038 to the bed 102. The hard disk 1033 stores / reads medical image files and file management information, and projection data (projection data indicates data before being converted into an X-ray CT image, sometimes referred to as raw data). ) And medical image files.

  The external storage I / F 1034 is an I / F that delivers the control code of the CPU 1038 to the external storage device 104. A display system I / F 1035 is an I / F that delivers a control code of the CPU 1038 to the monitor unit 105. The input system I / F 1036 is an I / F that passes the imaging conditions of the X-ray CT apparatus input by the operator using a keyboard or the like to the control code of the CPU 1038. A memory 1037 is a so-called work memory used in various operation modes of the CPU 1038 such as a medical image file copying operation.

  CPU1038 generates control codes for gantry I / F1031, bed system I / F1032, hard disk 1033, external storage I / F1034 and display system I / F1035 based on the control code (synonymous with shooting conditions) of input system I / F1036 To do.

Next, Example 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment, an example in which a medical image file is copied from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the data flow when copying a medical image file in the DICOM specification from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the data flow of FIG.

  The operator selects a medical image file to be copied from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104M based on the photographed image list of the subject photographed by the X-ray CT apparatus (step 301).

  The CPU 1038 acquires the selected medical image file from the medical image file database stored in the hard disk, and stores it in the storage area 201 of the memory 1037 (step 302).

  CPU 1038 reads storage area 203 of DICOMDIR of storage medium 104M loaded in external storage device 104 (step 303). DICOMDIR is one of the file management information of medical image files, and is directory information indicating information on the file name and file creation date. Here, the file management information is described using DICOMDIR. However, the information may be information on the imaging region of a medical image, and the file management information is not limited to directory information.

  The CPU 1038 determines whether or not the read DICOMDIR exists. If the DICOMDIR does not exist in the storage medium 104M, the CPU 1038 executes step 305 and the subsequent steps. .

  When the DICOMDIR does not exist in the storage medium 104M, the CPU 1038 acquires the DICOMDIR write area 203 in the storage area 203 of the storage medium 104M (step 305).

  The CPU 1038 copies the medical image file from the hard disk 1033 to the storage area 201 of the memory 1037, and copies it from the storage area 201 of the memory 1037 to the storage area excluding the storage area 203 of the storage medium 104M (step 306).

  The CPU 1038 writes DICOMDIR to the storage area 202 of the memory 1037 based on the read medical image file (step 307).

  The CPU 1038 determines whether or not all of the medical image files to be copied selected in step 301 have been copied to the storage medium 104M. If all of the medical image files have been copied, the CPU 1038 executes step 309. If not all are copied, step 306 is executed (step 308).

  The CPU 1038 copies DICOMDIR after completion of all copying of the medical image file from the storage area 202 of the memory 1037 to the storage area 203 of the storage medium 104M, and ends the processing (step 309).

  According to the first embodiment, each time a medical image file is copied from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104M in Step 306, Step 307 for updating DICOMDIR and Step 309 for copying the updated DICOMDIR from the memory 1037 to the storage medium 10M. Therefore, even when the storage capacity of the medical image file increases when copying the medical image file, the speed of saving to the storage medium 104M can be maintained.

  Further, the unique effect of the first embodiment is that DICOMDIR is updated only in the memory 1037, and DICOMDIR after copying is stored in the storage medium 104M. Therefore, the access to the storage medium 104M is the minimum necessary. Therefore, the total access time to the storage medium 104M can be shortened.

Next, Example 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which when the operator stops copying when copying a medical image file to the storage medium 104M, the storage contents of the storage medium 104M are restored before copying.

  4 is a diagram for explaining a data flow for saving the storage contents of the storage medium 104M, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of the data flow of FIG.

  The CPU 1038 recognizes that the storage medium 104M is loaded in the external storage device 104 via the external storage I / F 1034, and stores the DICOMDIR storage area from the DICOMDIR storage area 203 in the storage medium 104M to the storage area 401 in the memory 1037. The stored contents of 203 are saved (step 501).

  The CPU 1038 determines whether or not the stored content is DICOMDIR from the stored content of DICOMDIR saved in step 501, and if the stored content is not DICOMDIR, executes step 503, and if the stored content is DICOMDIR Step 505 is executed (step 502).

  The CPU 1038 reads the file allocation table (FAT) information of the storage medium 104M and saves the FAT information from the storage medium 104M to the storage area 401 of the memory 1037 (step 503).

  The CPU 1038 reads all track information of the storage medium 104M, saves all the track information from the storage medium 104M to the storage area 402 of the memory 1037, and then waits for the input of step 506 (step 504).

  The CPU 1038 reads the medical image file from the storage medium 104M, saves the medical image file from the storage medium 104M to the storage area 402 of the memory 1037, and then waits for input in step 506 (step 505).

  The operator uses the input unit 106 to input the cancellation of the copying process according to the first embodiment. The CPU 1038 is notified of the stop of the copying process input by the input unit 106 via the input system I / F 1036. Further, since the storage medium 104M before copying is stored in the memory 1037, in any of the image file copying processes from the hard disk 1033 to the storage medium 104M in the first embodiment, the operator The cancellation of the copying process 1 may be input using the input unit 106.

  The CPU 1038 displays, for example, a message “Do you want to cancel the copying process (Yes / No)?” On the monitor unit 105 in order to confirm the cancellation of the copying process to the operator (step 506). The operator uses the input unit 106 to input a confirmation input in response to the message “Do you want to cancel the copying process (Yes / No)?” Displayed on the display unit 105. The confirmation input input by the input unit 106 is transmitted to the CPU 1038 via the input system I / F 1036. The CPU 1038 determines whether or not the confirmation input executes copy cancellation. If the copy cancellation is not executed, step 508 is executed, and if copy stop is executed, step 509 is executed (step 507).

  The CPU 1038 executes steps 301 to 309 of the image file copying process from the hard disk 1033 of the first embodiment to the storage medium 104M (step 508).

  The CPU 1038 restores the storage contents of the storage medium 104M before copying based on the information saved in the storage medium 104M before copying in Step 501 to Step 504. Specifically, if there is DICOMDIR, the storage medium 104M before copying is restored using the DICOMDIR saved in step 501 and the medical image file saved in step 505. If there is no DICOMDIR, the storage medium 104M before copying is restored using the FAT of the storage medium 104M saved in step 503 and the storage contents stored in all the tracks of the storage medium saved in step 504 (step 509). .

  According to the second embodiment, since step 508 of the copying execution process is included, as in the first embodiment, even when the storage capacity of the medical image file is increased during copying of the medical image file, it is transferred to the storage medium 104M. You can maintain the speed of saving.

  In addition, the unique effect of the second embodiment can be restored to the storage medium 104 before copying at any time during the copying process of the first embodiment, even if copying is stopped.

  In the second embodiment, in order to improve the evacuation reliability, not only the evacuation information is stored in the memory 1037, but also a storage area is provided in the hard disk 1033, and the evacuation information is also stored in the storage area in the hard disk 1033. Also good.

  In the first and second embodiments, the storage medium 104M stores a larger amount of medical image files and file management information than DVD-RAM discs that are currently in circulation, such as Blu-ray discs, hologram discs, and portable hard discs. Although it is defined as a reproducible storage medium, since the access time reduction of the storage medium is common to all storage media, the invention disclosed in the first and second embodiments is a useful technique for all storage media. .

  Further, although the X-ray CT apparatus has been described in the above-described Examples 1 and 2, the invention disclosed in the above-described Examples 1 and 2 is applicable to the inside and outside of any subject such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. This technique is also useful for medical image diagnostic apparatuses that image morphological information.

  104 External storage device, 104M storage medium, 1033 hard disk. 1037 memory, 1038 CPU

Claims (4)

A selection step for accepting selection of a medical image file to be copied to a storage medium from among medical image files stored in the storage unit;
An update step of updating file management information generated outside the storage medium each time the selected medical image file is copied to the storage medium;
A copying method for copying a medical image file, wherein the copying apparatus executes a copying step of copying the file management information to the storage medium after all of the selected medical image files are copied to the storage medium. . Prior to the selection step, a evacuation step of evacuating storage information stored in advance in the storage medium to the outside of the storage medium;
When the copying of the medical image file to the storage medium is accepted, the copying apparatus further executes a restoration step of restoring the storage information of the storage medium based on the storage information saved outside the storage medium The method for copying a medical image file according to claim 1. A selection unit for receiving selection of a medical image file to be copied to a storage medium from among medical image files stored in the storage unit;
An update unit that updates file management information generated outside the storage medium each time the selected medical image file is copied to the storage medium;
A medical image file copying apparatus, comprising: a copying unit that copies the file management information to the storage medium after all of the selected medical image files are copied to the storage medium. A retreat unit that retreats storage information stored in advance in the storage medium to the outside of the storage medium;
And a recovery unit that recovers the storage information of the storage medium based on the storage information saved outside the storage medium when the stop of copying of the medical image file to the storage medium is received. The medical image file copying apparatus according to claim 3.

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