JP2001352446A - Medical image pickup device, medical image editor, and medical image printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device, a medical image editor, and a medical image printer for medical use that have proper operability and a high degree of editing flexibility. SOLUTION: This invention provides the medical image pickup device, the medical image editor, and the medical image printer for medical use that can edit medical images with respect to a subject into one frame, together with attached information corresponding to them and print out the medical images together with the attached information, on the basis of the edited frame data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a medical image photographing apparatus, a medical image editing apparatus, and a medical image printing apparatus for printing medical image data generated in a magnetic resonance image or the like on a film or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of printing apparatus includes an imager,
It is called a laser printer for medical imaging, and is becoming indispensable as a main peripheral device along with an image database that records image data on a large-capacity medium such as a magneto-optical disk with the generalization of digitization of imaging. ing.

[0003] In a conventional imager or an apparatus for providing print image data to the imager, the editing function is often limited, and it has been difficult or impossible to print freely with desired information or a desired format. Specifically, the layout of a plurality of medical images to be printed on a film is fixed, and can be arranged only in the order of selection of medical images to be printed or the order of imaging date and time.

[0004] Further, accompanying information of medical images can be printed on the film, but the print items are fixed by the patient's name, age, gender, patient ID, photographing date and time, etc. It is necessary to obtain information to be used as reference for image interpretation from a photographing detail sheet or the like obtained from another source, which is very troublesome, cumbersome, and prone to errors. In addition, there are situations in which it is not desirable to print patient private information such as patient names, etc. as presentation materials at conferences, but even in such cases, the patient names etc. are forcibly printed. This requires an artificial operation such as filling the area with black magic after printing.

Further, for all of the print images, the additional information is automatically laid out one by one in the area immediately below the image, which is convenient, but on the other hand, the additional information is There is also an adverse effect that the area divided for information is pressed and the number of medical images arranged on one film is reduced.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a medical image photographing apparatus, a medical image editing apparatus, and a medical image printing apparatus which have good operability and high editing flexibility.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for generating a plurality of medical images, comprising: means for repeatedly photographing a subject; A medical image photographing apparatus comprising: an editing unit that edits one frame together with information; and a unit that prints the plurality of medical images together with the supplementary information based on the edited frame data. .

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a means for inputting a plurality of medical images to be printed; an editing means for editing the plurality of medical images into one frame together with associated information corresponding thereto; Means for outputting the edited frame data to a printing device.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of medical images to be printed are input, an editing unit that edits the plurality of medical images into one frame together with associated information corresponding to each of the plurality of medical images, Means for printing the plurality of medical images together with the supplementary information on the basis of the edited frame data.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a medical image photographing apparatus, a medical image editing apparatus and a medical image printing apparatus according to the present invention. As is well known, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI) and an X-ray computed tomography apparatus (X-ray C
T), an X-ray diagnostic apparatus (X-ray), a gamma camera, a super diagnostic apparatus, etc., are currently in practical use, but any of them can be applied. Here, for convenience of explanation, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus will be described as an example of a medical image photographing apparatus.

First Embodiment (Medical Imaging Apparatus) FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a medical imaging apparatus (magnetic resonance imaging apparatus) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the magnet assembly 11 is generally equipped with a static magnetic field magnet 111, a gradient magnetic field coil 112, and an RF coil 113. The static magnetic field magnet 111 generates a static magnetic field. An imaging region into which a subject is inserted at the time of imaging is filled with a static magnetic field. A gradient magnetic field generated from the gradient coil 112 driven by the gradient magnetic field amplifier 12 is superimposed on the static magnetic field for the purpose of adding spatial information to the magnetic resonance signal in a frequency or phase form. The RF coil 113 driven by the RF transceiver 13 generates a high-frequency magnetic field. By adjusting the duration and the amplitude of the high-frequency magnetic field, the magnetization can be displaced to various states such as an excited state and a phase inversion. A magnetic resonance signal generated from the subject through such processes as excitation and phase inversion is received by the RF transmitting / receiving unit 13 via the RF coil 113. Based on the magnetic resonance signal received by the RF transmission / reception unit 13, the image generation unit 17 generates magnetic resonance image data.

The sequence controller 14 is input through the console 16 and includes the type of pulse sequence set by the system controller 15, the imaging parameters such as the echo time TE and the repetition time TR of the pulse sequence, and the slice position. According to the imaging conditions, the gradient magnetic field amplifier 12 and the RF transceiver 13
Is controlled. From the console 16, various information regarding the subject such as the subject's name, age, gender, and patient ID are input in addition to the imaging conditions.

Although not shown, the image data generated by the image generation unit 17 is output to a high-definition display, displayed, and sent to an image data storage unit 22 having a large-capacity medium such as a magneto-optical disk. Will be kept. In addition, various information individually attached to the images, for example, the above-described imaging conditions and subject information, and additional data including many items such as the imaging date and time are associated with image data by image numbers and the like. Are generated by the system controller 15 and sent to the auxiliary data storage unit 21 for storage. The supplementary data storage unit 21 includes the image data storage unit 2
2 is a common device, and the accompanying data is written to the magneto-optical disk together with the image data.

This magnetic resonance imaging apparatus is provided with an image printing function for printing image data on a medium such as a film and visualizing the image data, in addition to the above-mentioned general components. The image printing function includes an image editing unit 31,
A summary editing unit 32, a film number creation unit 36, an image data buffer memory 33, a summary data buffer memory 34, a print image organization unit 35, an imager 421 as a print unit, and here, shooting conditions and the like. And a console 16 for inputting various information related to image printing, which is also used for inputting the information.

The components relating to the image printing function will be described with reference to FIG. 2 together with the flow of the image printing operation. First, keywords necessary for searching for an image to be printed, such as a subject name, a subject ID, and a shooting date and time, are input to the image editing unit 31 and the summary editing unit 32 via the console 16 (S1). The data stored in the image data storage unit 22 is stored in the image editing unit 31 by the input keyword.
The image data corresponding to the keyword is retrieved from the image data storage unit 22 to the image editing unit 31,
Similarly, additional data corresponding to the keyword is read from the additional data storage unit 21 to the summary editing unit 32 (S
2). Generally, there are relatively many frames as image data corresponding to such a large classification keyword.

The read image data of a large number of frames are displayed in a list on a display (not shown) by the image editing unit 31 and the summary editing unit 32 together with the accompanying data (S3). From among these, image data of a relatively small number of frames is determined as a final print target image by a narrowing-down operation (S4) performed via the console 16 (S5).

Next, the image editing section 31 arranges a plurality of images to be printed in the image printing area of a frame corresponding to the entire surface of the film in a standard order set initially, for example, in the shooting date and time. Is laid out (S6).
This layout result is displayed on the display as shown in FIG. Here, the operator can check the layout and change the image layout to a desired arrangement via the console 16 as necessary. The layout information is sent from the image editing unit 31 via the memory 33 to the print image organizing unit 3 together with a plurality of print target image data.
Sent to 5.

In the film number creating section 36, a film number is sequentially assigned to each film, and the film number is created as image data of "film number" together with the total number of films, for example. It is sent to the knitting unit 35 (S15). The film number generator 36 has three types of film numbering rules. The first rule is that the film number is incremented in units of one day, that is, the first film to be printed in the day is given a film number of 1, and
Thereafter, the films to be printed are sequentially numbered sequentially. The second rule is that the film number is incremented on a patient-by-patient basis, that is, when an image relating to a certain patient is printed on the film, the film to be printed is first given a film number of 1 and thereafter, the same is applied to the same patient. When an image is printed, each film is sequentially numbered sequentially. In this case, it is preferable to attach a patient identification number (patient ID) to the vicinity of the film number on the film, for example, by separating the slash “/” next to the film number. The third rule is that the film number is incremented for each patient and each imaging unit. That is, when an image of a certain patient generated in a certain imaging operation is printed on the film, the film number to be printed first is assigned the first film number. Thereafter, when printing images relating to the same patient, each film is sequentially numbered sequentially, and even if the same patient has an image generated by a different photographing operation on another day or the like. For the film to be printed,
It starts with a new film number of No. 1. The printing operator can select any one of these three types of numbering rules determined by a doctor or the like. In this case, it is preferable to attach a photographing number assigned to each photographing operation in the vicinity of the film number on the film, for example, with a slash “/” next to the film number.

Next, the summary is edited in the following procedure. The summary is defined as a part (summary) of supplementary information on all or some of the images to be printed together with the images on the film. First, the operator selects a target image described in the summary from a plurality of images that have been determined to be printed. Of course, the summary editing unit 32 selects a predetermined rule, for example, the image with the oldest shooting date and time and the newest image in the image to be printed, from the plurality of images that have been determined to be printed. According to the rule, the target image in which the summary is described may be automatically selected from a plurality of images that have been determined as print targets.
In addition, it is possible to set a summary for all of a plurality of images that have been determined to be printed, but in many cases, two to three of the images that are smaller than the number of images to be printed are set. There is almost no hindrance to image interpretation work using only the summary information of the three representative images, and if an attempt is made to describe the summary of all or many images, the image print area in the film is pressed by that much, and one image is obtained. Since the number of images that can be printed on one film is reduced, or the size of an image that can be printed on one film is reduced, it is preferable to describe the summary only for two or three representative images. is there.

When about two or three images (summary images) in which the summary is described are selected, the summary editing unit 32 then extracts predetermined items from the supplementary information related to the summary images. It is extracted as a print target item (S7). These extraction items include common items such as a patient identification number (patient ID), patient name, age, gender, and imaging date and time common to all images, a pulse sequence type, a slice position (scanogram),
There are individual items unique to an image, such as imaging parameters such as echo time TE and repetition time. The summary editing unit 32 extracts common items and individual items separately. The common items are printed in the common item area in the summary print area in the film, while the individual items are printed in the individual item area.

It should be noted that predetermined items included in the supplementary information are
As a print target item, the summary editing unit 32 may automatically extract the item, or the operator can add a desired item or delete an unnecessary item. In addition, important items in the summary selected automatically or manually via the console 16, for example, the notation method of the patient name, the patient ID, and the age are made different from those of other items to emphasize the important items. You can also Also, "T
For general image characteristics that depend on the type of pulse sequence and its parameters, such as “1-emphasized image” and “fat suppression image,” the notation size is set smaller than other items so that it is easier to distinguish from other items. It is automatically enlarged and, if necessary, the operator can manually specify font notation or outline notation. Of course, for other items, the notation method can be freely set and changed by the operator.

In the summary editing section 32, these notation items,
In particular, important items such as the patient name, patient ID, and age, and "T1
Image characteristic items that are important for image interpretation, such as "emphasized image" and "fat suppression image", are created in a fixed size and font, and are arranged at fixed positions in the summary print area in the film. Therefore, when five printed films are viewed, for example, in a superimposed manner, all the items such as the patient's name can be seen at the same position and seen through. Further, with the printed film placed on a desk, items such as names can be visually recognized by the reflected light.

As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the operator can use the console 16 to specify, for example, a name related to the privacy of the patient, either as it is or as an initial. You can choose. The image information itself has inherently closed properties and should not be disclosed. On the other hand,
There is a case where the image information is disclosed with the patient's understanding or the like, for example, a case where the image information is used in a conference presentation. Even in such a case, there is often a resistance in the name notation. In the past, after film printing, the name was hidden by physically filling it with black magic. By making the initial notation selectable, it is considered that such trouble is unnecessary.

Further, items related to the privacy of the patient include a patient identification number (I) in addition to the name and initials.
D), age, gender, etc., and a private mode is provided in the summary editing unit 32 for notation of items relating to the privacy of the patient. When the operator activates the private mode via the console 16, the summary editing unit 32 performs a process related to an operation of not displaying (not printing on a film) items relating to the privacy of the patient.

Next, comments from a doctor or a doctor are input via the console 16 as needed (S8).
The summary editing unit 32 assigns, for example, white data to the comment and gray data to the background. As a result, the comment is printed in a state of being extracted white in gray, so that the effect of emphasizing the comment is enhanced, and the effect of making it easy to see and preventing oversight can be expected.

The common items, individual items and comments are collectively referred to as a summary. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the summary editing unit 32 lays out the summary in a summary print area in the film (S
9). The layout result is displayed on the display, and at this point, the operator can change the layout as needed. According to the summary layout completed in this way, summary data relating to two or three images is sent from the summary editing unit 32 to the print image organization unit 35 via the memory 34 together with the layout information.

The print image organizing section 35 lays out the transmitted image data in the image print area of the frame corresponding to the film according to the layout information, and lays out the transmitted summary data and film number data in the layout. The layout is laid out in the summary print area according to the information, and print image data including such information is created (S10). Further, the print image organization section 35 extracts information for identifying each image, for example, image identification information such as a shooting date and time, a slice position (SP), or an image number from the accompanying information, and extracts them from each of the laid-out images. It is added near, for example, directly below, directly above, or beside each image. As a result, the correspondence between the summary and the image, such as which image in the film the summary relates to, can be surely grasped, for example, at the time of image reading after printing the film. The print image organization unit 35 converts a predetermined part of the print image into, for example, white or gray data. This part is printed in white or gray on the film. In this portion, additional information such as a film number can be written by hand using black magic or the like after film printing.

This print image data is displayed as a print image on the display by the print image organization unit 35 (S11), and after confirmation by the operator (S12), is output from the print image organization unit 35 to the imager 41 (S13). ). Then, the imager 41 prints an image, a summary, and a film number on the film based on the print image data as shown in FIG. 6 (S14).
Here, as shown in FIG. 6, important items such as patient ID, patient name, patient age, gender, and shooting date and time are printed at predetermined positions in the lower column of the film.
The image is printed vertically at a predetermined position in the upper right column of the film.

Various types of imagers 41 are currently in widespread use, and among them, the mainstream is a laser printer, in which laser light generated by a semiconductor laser is held by rollers via a scanner and a lens. It has a structure that irradiates on the film, and as a control system, a circuit that rearranges the supplied print image data and changes the transfer speed, and print image data output from the circuit is converted into an analog signal It basically comprises a circuit for converting, a circuit for modulating the output intensity of the semiconductor laser according to the signal amplitude, and a circuit for controlling the operation of the scanner and the roller in synchronization with the modulation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the supplementary information can be printed on the film together with the image as a summary, and the items to be printed as the summary and the notation (font, size, outline, etc.) can be freely set. Can be specified, which improves the efficiency of image interpretation work. In addition, since several images for printing the additional information can be appropriately selected from the print images and the print area of the additional information can be minimized, the image print area is not much pressed. . Also, since only necessary items in the supplementary information are printed as a summary, the image printing area is not so much pressed, and the interpretation work is not confused by unnecessary information. Further, since the film has various functions such as printing comments of a doctor or the like, it is possible to freely use these functions to write easy-to-see and essential information.

Second Embodiment (Medical Image Editing Apparatus) The first embodiment described above relates to a medical image photographing apparatus equipped with a film printing function. Only the functions of the editing part are shown in FIG. As shown, the medical image editing apparatus 300 may be positioned as an independent apparatus from the medical image capturing apparatus 100, the image data storage apparatus 200 such as PACS, and the imager 400.
Reference numeral 36 denotes an operation panel 36 dedicated to the medical image editing apparatus 300 as an independent apparatus.

By providing the medical image editing apparatus 300 as an independent apparatus, the medical image editing apparatus 300 can be replaced with a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI) 101, an X-ray computed tomography apparatus (X-ray CT) 102, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus ( X-ra
y), gamma camera 104 including SPECT and PET,
It can be shared by many medical image capturing apparatuses 100 such as the super diagnostic apparatus (US) 105, and can cooperate with the image data storage apparatus 200. Also,
It can be shared by many imagers 400. Further, the medical image editing apparatus 300 can be sold alone, and the effect of promoting the development of an image system for the entire hospital at low cost can be expected.

Third Embodiment (Medical Image Printing Apparatus) Also, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the medical image printing apparatus 400 may be incorporated together with the imager 41 as a printing unit.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above,
Various modifications are possible.

[0035]

According to the present invention, a plurality of medical images relating to a subject are stored together with the corresponding
It is possible to edit a frame and print multiple medical images with accompanying information based on the edited frame data, so that most of the information necessary for image interpretation can be read from the film, which improves the efficiency of image interpretation work I do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a medical image capturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image layout screen in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a name display and an initial display in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a summary layout screen in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a print output example in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a medical image editing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a medical image printing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Magnet assembly 111 ... Static magnetic field magnet, 112 ... Gradient magnetic field coil, 113 ... RF coil, 12 ... Gradient magnetic field amplifier, 13 ... RF transmission / reception part, 14 ... Sequence controller, 15 ... System controller, 16 ... Console, 17 ... Image Generating unit, 21: auxiliary data storage unit, 22: image data storage unit, 31: image editing unit, 32: summary editing unit, 33: memory, 34: memory, 35: print image organization unit, 41: imager.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Taro Takahara 3-10-14 Kyodo, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Masaaki Yui 1385-1 Higashiyama, Shimoishigami, Otawara City, Tochigi Pref. 72) Inventor Takayomi Oshima 2-16-4 Akabane, Kita-ku, Tokyo Toshiba Medical System Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukiko Sato 2-16-4 Akabane, Kita-ku, Tokyo Toshiba Medical System Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (16)

[Claims] A means for repeatedly photographing a subject in order to generate a plurality of medical images; an editing means for editing the plurality of medical images into one frame together with associated information corresponding thereto; Means for printing the plurality of medical images together with the supplementary information based on the obtained frame data. 2. The editing means has a function of editing, together with the plurality of medical images, only additional information relating to one or a relatively small number of medical images selected from the plurality of medical images into one frame. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The medical image capturing apparatus according to the above. 3. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of selecting a relatively small number of medical images as print target images from the plurality of medical images. 4. The editing means has a function of arranging the plurality of medical images in a first area in the frame and arranging the incidental information in a second area in the frame. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of extracting a print target item from a plurality of items included in the supplementary information. 6. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of automatically extracting a predetermined print target item from a plurality of items included in the supplementary information. 7. The medical image according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of extracting an item designated as an item to be printed by an operator from a plurality of items included in the supplementary information. Shooting equipment. 8. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of editing an arbitrary comment in the frame together with the medical image and the supplementary information. 9. The editing means distinguishes items common to the plurality of medical images in the incidental information from individual items of each of the plurality of medical images, and distinguishes the common items and the individual items from each other. 2. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of editing in another area of the frame. 10. The editing means distinguishes an item common to the plurality of medical images in the supplementary information from individual items of each of the plurality of medical images, and distinguishes the common item and the individual item from each other. 2. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of editing in another area of the frame. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of attaching information for individually associating the medical image with the supplementary information near the medical image.
The medical image capturing apparatus according to the above. 12. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing means has a function of selectively editing the name and initials of the subject in the frame. 13. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has a function of making a printing mode of a specific item included in the additional information different from other items. 14. The medical image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing means has a function of adding the total number of frames and each frame number to the frame data. 15. A means for inputting a plurality of medical images to be printed, an editing means for editing the plurality of medical images into one frame together with associated information respectively, and printing the edited frame data Means for outputting to a device. 16. A means for inputting a plurality of medical images to be printed, an editing means for editing the plurality of medical images into one frame together with associated information corresponding thereto, and an editing means for editing the plurality of medical images based on the edited frame data. Means for printing the plurality of medical images together with the supplementary information.